The Greatest Gift is You
by Anon8043
Summary: Taking place three months after the events of Quid Pro Quo, It's Christmas time in Zootopia, and Nick is taking a break from his enrollment in the police academy to spend the holiday with his favorite bunny.
1. Chapter 1

_December 24th_

 _9:12 am_

* * *

The usually bustling cafeteria reflected more the ambience of a library than what was every morning the whirlwind of movement that stampeded through the wide room. Clinking of forks and utensils across plastic trays could be clearly heard from across the array of tables, and the only mammals that let their voice rise into the hushed atmosphere did so barely above a whisper. The morning rush had become far more subdued in the past few days, as it was the morning of Christmas Eve, and all mammals that intended to go home for the holidays had taken their leave in days prior, all except one.

Nick walked down the isles of empty tables, sauntering across the room made for mammals four or five times his size at a leisurely pace. The claws on his hand paws clicked across the tiled floor with every step he took, and the small, constant sound echoed throughout the cafeteria. The fox's tail swished behind him, sticking out a pair of camouflage cargo pants with a dark blue pattern, and he brought his paw out of his pant's pockets to buff the sharp claws across his light blue T-shirt with a Zootopia Police Academy insignia on the breast. Inspecting them with his usual lidded smile, he returned it to his pocket, satisfied.

In the fox's other paw, he carried with him a beaten and weathered styrofoam cup, patterns and simple pictures cut into the side around the cartoonish depiction of a two heads, one fox and one bunny. The contents jingled, and the metal disks within bounced with him every step that he took. Nick glanced around the space, inspecting again the relative desertion of the ZPA cafeteria. There remained a few mammals slowly eating their breakfast. Most of them were off on their own, reading books or playing on their phones, but some congregated in small groups, laughing and talking in hushed whispers to each other in the quiet room.

The ZPA buildings were practically archaic by modern standards, but Nick found himself surprised by how used to he was already to the brick and mortar architecture and the old, creaking wood. It was not dissimilar to what most of the southwest side would look like if it had been properly cared for, and the old, frigid tiles that bit at his pads on his way across the room seemed appropriately dated for the building. If he was to be honest, he would have said he expected something a little more modern, but he enjoyed it all the same. Nick was used to being generally smaller than what things were made for, and it did not take him long to get used to life in the ZPA.

A wolf on the other side of the room barked out a laugh at the behest of a panther's joke, and his voice traveled throughout the artificial light, echoing off the ivory tiled walls easily. Nick's smile grew wider as he reached the end of the tables, walking out into an open area in front of a wall of brick pillars, each one with a similarly built arch that connected the row, framing the counters and food stations that opened up into the kitchen behind. The fox took a sharp right, following the edge of the array and towards a brick wall with an enormous ZPA insignia painted on it. Below the insignia hung a paper banner with the caption 'Happy Holidays'.

The entire room was almost three stories at its tallest point, accommodating some of the largest mammals that walked the planet. The north wall held the brickface with the giant ZPA insignia, the east and west walls were covered in an ivory tile in what spaces that weren't opened up to the kitchens beyond, and the south wall, behind the fox, had a row of glass doors looking out into the flurry of snow that was slowly blanketing the campus. Tables that were meant to seat mammals of all sizes and shapes were arranged throughout the space, bolted into the weathered, white tiled floor.

Nick reached the edge of the array, coming up to the base of the brick wall where a collection of payphone fixtures were attached to the wall. Much like the rest of the building, they were old but well cared for, their shiny chrome plating and light blue paint only slightly scuffed at the edges from age. The fox stopped just short of the tallest fixture, though it was still larger than many of the payphones back in the city. He reached out to grab the handle of a fold out step, pulling on the rubber coated bar so that a steel checker plate step fell into a horizontal position. With some effort, he pulled himself up onto the the step so that he was right in front of the payphone's face.

Reaching up with his paw, Nick sat his styrofoam cup up on the top of the fixture, retrieving three coins from the open top. The fox jingled the coins around in his closed paw, reaching out to grab hold of the pawset twice as large as he was used to. He may have not been overtly bothered by everything else being built too big for him, but the payphone was an exception. When Nick had left for the academy, he had made a familiar promise, telling Judy he would call her every night. It was a routine that he had been very consistent with, and he usually scarfed down his food in order to talk to her longer before the cafeteria was closed.

The mechanism that the pawset rested on clunked loudly as he pulled it off the face of the fixture, draping it over his shoulder like a hook. He stopped jingling the coins, and one by one, Nick slotted the quarters, pushing them the rest of the way in with his thumb before dexterously pulling out another with just one paw. Once all three of them were inserted, he punched the pound sign on the dialpad, following it up with a rapid flourish of his fingers to enter in Judy's number, something he had found himself doing absently on his desk during long sessions of study it had become so ingrained in his mind.

With both paws, he grabbed onto the oversized pawset draped over his shoulder and lifted it up to his ears, the faint ringing becoming a droning electric hum when it finally reached the side of his head. Nick was usually the only one to use the fixtures, and because of that he almost never found himself having to turn the volume knob, which was what made the painful volume worse. Darting his paw to the ridged metal dial, he twisted it almost to mute with a grimace on his face, which made him lose balance of the pawset, which he just barely caught again. Groaning, Nick carefully got a better grasp on the clunky piece of plastic in his paws, only twisting the volume knob back up when he was sure he wasn't going to drop it.

The receiver's droning hum returned as he stared daggers at the volume knob, silently hating the payphone in front of him for all the grief it had given him. If he wasn't the only mammal currently enrolled that couldn't use the larger fixtures normally, he would spam the faculty with anonymous letters complaining about it. Halfway through one of the ringing cycles, it was cut off and the receiver was filled with a static clamor off an echoey background. From what he could tell, all the muddied voices were female, and the ambience sounded like she was stuck inside a fridge.

"Nick?" Judy asked cheerfully into the microphone, her smile shining through her voice. Nick could hear her messing with something, and sharp metal creaks echoed through the receiver.

"Hey, Carrots," he replied with his own smile, and he turned his body to glance over the cafeteria. The fox leaned back into the face of the payphone, being sure not to press into the various buttons and dials, and swished his tail around to cover his hind paws. The cafeteria was heated, to be sure, but with just a couple panes of glass and a single measly airlock between him and a blizzard - and the fact that the mammals running the ZPA were apparently sticklers on matters of energy efficiency - it wasn't exactly cozy in the large room. "How's it going?"

"Pretty good," she replied, humming lightly over the airwaves, causing a smile to split the fox's face. Judy's voice had been his lifeline in the academy, and the few times they had gotten to hang out since he had left were few and far between. If the rigorous training had ever put him in a bad mood, all it would take it one of her dorky pep-talks and he felt like he could do it all over again. "It's cold, but other than that everything's great!"

Nick hummed back at Judy, and allowed his eyes to unfocus as he listened to her, trailing over the large space in front of him. Over the sparsely populated tables, the snow continued to whirl around the cold outdoor air, falling onto the ground with a forceful onslaught. He thought it was surprisingly light out for how hard the snow was falling. "Oh, yeah?" Nick asked, raising his eyebrow again at the background noise he could hear around her. "Are you off work yet?"

"Uh-huh," she chirped, and the fox heard her press the phone between her cheek and shoulder, freeing her paws for something. "Snarlov just relieved me at the parade." A low hiss shot though the receiver, and to Nick it sounded like an old shower being brought to life. "I'm in the locker room right now, getting ready to head out."

Nodding his head in response, it made sense to him with the amount of noise that was coming from wherever she was. He listened to her fuss with something on her end, and the sound of metal creaking right next to the microphone told him she was probably getting dressed right that moment. The image that immediately popped into his mind was not one that he believed was appropriated for best friends. "They went through with it, huh?" he asked with little interest, though he enjoyed her voice enough to feign interest in just about anything. "I thought the city got a couple inches of snow."

"We did," she replied, the sound of her ripping her shirt off of a hanger in her locker coming through the receiver. Judy sucked in a shrilled breath through her lip in thought. "They might be cutting it short here in a few. They tried to get Rampyke to cancel it, but he really wanted it to happen this year." While she was talking to him, her voice alternated in closeness to the microphone as she slipped her arms through her sleeves, and when she was done she stuck the phone back between her cheek and shoulder to work the buttons. "The Chief's over in the staff room watching the weather right now. I think he's going to call it if the snow gets any worse."

Nick groaned loudly, putting up his distaste a little more than he actually felt. "I wish Major _Hardass_ would have called off the pre-dawn run," he said bitterly, receiving a breathy giggle from the rabbit on the other end of the line. The fox shook his head in mock disbelief, throwing a paw up to wipe down his long snout. "You'd think she'd have a more festive spirit and let us off easy on Christmas Eve." Snorting in clear dismissal of the previous statement, he continued in a droning tone. "All she did was push the schedule forward a couple hours."

"Hey!" Judy interjected, and he could tell she had stopped what she was doing to focus on talking on the phone, something he had found incredibly endearing. Nick could vividly imagine her finger out in front of her, pointed directly 'at' him despite the fact that he was nowhere near. "Major Friedkin is a _fantastic_ drill instructor. She might be a little rough around the edges, but she gets you motivated when you need it."

Replying with something in between a dry laugh and a scoff, Nick chuckled while he was trying to reply. "Okay," he said in a shaky voice filled with mirth, rolling his lidded eyes. "I must have gotten her sister then, because this one is only motivating me with spite."

Judy replied by laughing along with him. "Hey," she said absently, and he could hear her whip out another piece of clothing. "If it works…" Nick chuckled back at that, and they fell back into one of their usual silences, only it felt a little strange to Nick considering he was listening to her dress. The doe was the one to break the silence, though only after he heard her struggle to put on her pants with only one paw. "So you're just getting done with breakfast?"

"Yup," he replied, nodding his head. The fox's eyes snapped over to the kitchen, watching a number of the staff clean up the mess that they had generated from preparing breakfast. Nick did not eat much of it. He had some of the generic fruit and berries that they offered, but the main course did not particularly look appealing to him. _Fish_ , Nick thought harshly. _Why does it always have to be fish?_ "I'm off the rest of the day, though," Nick said, returning his undivided attention to the bunny on the other end of the line. "I already told her you were coming to get me this afternoon."

"Good, because I am about to leave," she replied. The sound of her pulling more things out of her locker filled the air between them, and after a moment he heard her shut the metal door with a loud clang. Slipping her combination lock back into place, Judy locked it with a heavy click followed by her spinning the dial around randomly. "I should be over there about eleven-thirty."

A lazy smile crept across the fox's muzzle as he stared out into space, listening to her throw her jacket on before shouldering her bag. "Put the pedal to the metal, sweetheart," he said in an amused tone. "Get me out of here."

She answered him with a breathy giggle, the sounds of the women's locker room fading into the distance she she pushed open the door. "Come on, Slick," she replied. "It's not _that_ bad." Judy started humming as she made her way through the precinct - the familiarity of the ambient noises coming through the receiver suggesting that _perhaps_ he had been talking to her too much at work. Before long, she started talking again, only this time with a thoughtful voice as she scratched her cheek. "I got some stuff last night that we can make for dinner. I still don't really know what to get you, so I just got a few different things that you can pick from."

Nick forced himself to suppress a groan. It wasn't that he thought it was bad cooking with her, it was just that with his luck and her - shall we say - _lacking_ skill, it more often than not turned out less than deserving of those five stars they were after. "Are we going to make it in that fire trap you call a kitchen?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow towards nothing in particular. Someone in Judy's building had decided one day to throw out their half-sized bookcases. It was her _brilliant_ idea to drag it all the way up the stairs and use it as a kitchen, since they could technically use it as the same time, each of them on a different shelf.

"We are _not_ going to have takeout on Christmas Eve, Nick," she replied, and he could practically feel her rolling her eyes. "It won't be so bad." Judy desperately tried to sound convincing, but they both knew that it was really a toss-up as to whether it would be 'fine' or not. "Trust me."

It was Nick's turn to roll his eyes. "That's what you said last time we used it," he mumbled. The fox turned back around on the metal step, letting his eyes fall onto the face of the payphone without really looking at it. Still having to hold onto the pawset with both of his paws, he found it awkward to stand in front of the fixture. On other occasions, he'd drape his free arm around something, but here he had to stand there like an asshole holding onto a clunky piece of plastic too big for him. He really did hate this payphone. If it wasn't his only connection with Judy, he would have sworn it off the week he arrived.

Judy laughed at his comment, though he could tell she was still very embarrassed about his going away dinner. What was meant to be a nice dinner with wine and celebration turned into a unscheduled pizza night with only half a bottle of wine. "Yeah," she drawled out, agreeing but with a catch. Nick couldn't wait to hear whatever rationalization to not dump the shelf and be done with it was _this_ time. "And it worked plenty of times before that."

Snorting at her, he tried to keep up his disapproval, but she had a way of drawing out a smile from him. "All it takes is one to burn us all alive," he informed her lazily, receiving an incredulous scoff from the doe, like he had somehow insulted her. It just made his smile grow wider as he stared at the payphone. As far as fire hazards go, it seemed they had a knack for it, but thankfully it had never progresses past some scorch marks on the odd bit of furniture or the thoroughly crispy remains of what _used_ to be food. One thing he knew for sure though is that he did not want to push their luck with a Christmas hallmark. "Did you get a tree?"

There was a long pause on the other end of the line as Judy walked through the precinct. "Yeah…" she replied like it was a stupid question.

"Then we are _not_ using your jury-rigged shelf," he said firmly. Nick did not know much about domestic life besides what he had learned in the weeks of living with Judy, but even on the streets you learn some things about normal life simply by osmosis. One such thing being Christmas trees were notorious for catching a spark. He supposed _that's_ why the phrase was 'lit up like a Christmas tree', as opposed to the obvious. "The whole apartment will go up in smoke."

Judy groaned at him, probably wishing that he would just go along with everything that she asked, though he had a feeling that he already did too much of that simply by her fluttering her damn eyelashes. When she started again, she did it in that exact same tone that she always used, and if he was a betting mammal (which he used to be), he would put money on the fact that she _was_ , in fact, fluttering her eyelashes across the phone line. "Nick, I hardly think it's very kind of you to continuously insult my culinary ability-"

"What ability?" he asked, cutting her off.

" _And_ the tree is very small," she said, choosing to ignore his comment. The sounds of the precinct grew louder as she passed into another room, phones ringing inside a large space filling the receiver, but it only lasted a few seconds as she passed through it into another hallway. Judy still used her soft, droning tone in an effort to change his mind, and he hated that it was working… _Again_. "It's miles away from the shelf. It'll be fine."

Shutting his eyes tightly, he removed the pawset from the side of his face and tapped it onto his forehead, making a silent prayer that this would not be a mistake. "Fine," he relented, listening to her try to remain quiet in her triumph, pumping her fist and releasing a barely audible 'Yes!'. Nick sighed, the fact that he had been coerced into putting his life in danger for the hundredth time sinking in. "But we're _not_ drinking until _after_ we unplug everything," the fox ordered, the memory of trying to sauté some vegetables while tipsy flashing through his mind like a horror movie. "What did you get, anyway?"

"The wine?" Judy asked. After a moment of thinking she hummed, obviously unable to recall even the slightest detail. "Something that had the word 'chateau' on the front. I couldn't tell you anything else."

Nick chuckled dryly, returning the pawset to his ear. "How very cultured," he replied sarcastically, turning around on the step again to lean into its face. His emerald eyes ran over the space again, falling finally on the flurries of snow. If it kept up like that, he would be waiting with nothing but his head poking out of the powder.

Scoffing at the fox, Judy rolled her eyes at him again, or at least that is what he imagined her doing. "Oh, right," she drawled out, unable to hide the smile shining through her voice. "I forgot. You're like some kind of wine expert, is that it?" Nick's lips matched her's as she went on, creeping up his muzzle into a toothy smile. "I hope I didn't insult your _refined_ sensibilities."

"Far from it," he replied. Nick found himself studying the symmetrical layout of tables. Much like the trains and various other things, they had been arranged in alternating fashion, with large tables fit for elephants and rhinos spaced out between a far greater number of medium sized tables. The fox had to stand on the stools to reach his food, which wasn't usually that bad, but it did make him wonder how Judy was able to get by with how small she was. The fox's eyes lazily fell back down to his hind paws covered in his tail as he smiled into the pawset. "I find the ignorance endearing."

Judy snorted, and the sounds of the precinct became distinct again, her voice trailing off as if it was in a large room. Distant sounds of music led him to believe that she was in the entrance hall of Precinct One, which bled out right into the fray of Central Plaza where the parade was taking place. "Okay, Slick," she said with a light chuckle, and he heard her call out to the reception desk that she was leaving. When she turned her attention back to the phone, she made a soft hum into the microphone, causing the fox's ears to twitch as his mind buzzed in comfort. "I'm letting you go now-"

"Say it ain't so," Nick replied, cutting her off. His smile was difficult to hide, though he tried nonetheless. The dry humor that he so often utilised seemed to lose its weight when he was beaming like a kit in a candy store, and he had to wonder if he would have to stand in front of a mirror to practice his mask like he had done so long ago just to not smile like an idiot all day.

Another breathy giggle escaped the doe's mouth, and the sound of her entering the echoey concrete enclosement of the parking garage made her voice sound distant. "I'll see you in a bit," she said cheerfully.

Nick hummed into the hushed atmosphere. "I can't wait. I'm going to go stand outside right now," he said lethargically, his smile growing back into a toothy grin. Rolling his head around his shoulders in mock deliberation, Nick pursed his lips in thought. "If you hurry, I might not be frozen," he said in a leading tone, wiggling his eyebrows around on his forehead. "And you can warm me up."

"That's _it_!" Judy cried with a raised voice, but Nick could tell by the smile shining through that she didn't mind his teasing as much as she let on.

The fox's body tensed abruptly, and his tail swished around so that he could jolt into a pouncing stance, holding onto the pawset tightly. "Wait!" Nick called out, attempting to stop her from hanging up.

There was a brief moment of silence that made him think that he was too late, but after a moment, he heard the phone being returned to her face. "What?" she questioned exasperatedly. He could hear her fishing around her pocket for her keys now, nearing the cruiser she would be borrowing to pick him up.

A smarmy grin captured his muzzle as Nick straightened back out, his lidded eyes narrowing thanks to the force of the curl in his lips. "Drive safely," he replied, completely serious.

Judy groaned, and he again pictured in his mind her rolling her amethyst orbs at him in the way that her mouth sparked up into a slight grin, her buck teeth barely peeking out at him. Just the image alone was rapturing, but the real thing was something so much more for the fox. He almost wished that she would take his pleading seriously and actually speed the whole way there, though another part of him strangely wanted her to go _under_ the speed limit with the weather that was currently coming down. "Hang up the phone, Nick," she ordered him, a genuine smile present in her voice.

Nick chuckled. "You first."

"Gladly," she chirped back.

The noise on her end of the line was cut off abruptly with a tone, and then the pawset went dead, beeping at him to hang it up. Nick couldn't help but chuckle at the exchange, his toothy smile threatening to split his face in two. Slowly, he returned the pawset back to its mechanism, the metal lever clunking into place when he rested the its weight back onto it. For a moment, he just stared at the payphone's face with a dorky smile, his ears relaxing back on his head. That same unfamiliar feeling that had been coming to him more and more had returned, and it melted his worries away. He still didn't know what it was.

Nick was beyond elated that he was going to see Judy again in just a few short hours. There were things he still had to do before she came, but he had time. In truth, he had no intention of standing out in the snow for any more than fifteen minutes - and even then it was pushing the boundaries of his patience - the fox had something else in mind. After another moment of blankly staring at the fixture, his paw rose back up to the styrofoam cup that rested on the top, retrieving another three quarters. Nick reenacted the familiar routine, inserting the quarters after taking the pawset and draping it over his shoulder.

The number he entered this time was not so familiar, and his fingers punching the numbers on the dialpad were slow and methodical as he tried to recall the sequence of his next telephone foray. After he was sure he had gotten the right string of numbers, he lifted the pawset up to the side of his head, hearing again that electronic ringing of the call being connected. In all honestly, this was Nick's last resort. He had thought about it a lot, and no matter how many times he turned himself around in circles, he still couldn't be sure of himself. So, he ordained it necessary to give the one person he knew that could help him a call.

Halfway through one of the electronic hums, it was cut off mid tone, and the noise that greeted him was a whirlwind of laughter, shouting, and loud banging. "Hopps residence," a female voice answered, and whoever it was tried to cup he paw around the microphone without any real success.

The sounds of her warren sounded absolutely headache-inducing to the fox, and his eyebrows rose high up on his forehead. Exactly how Judy's mother dealt with something like that, he did not know. His only guess would probably be some kind of noxious gas that could be pumped through the warren to put everyone to sleep at the same time, and even then it sounded ridiculously difficult. _Judy did say it was a rabbit thing_ , he thought to himself. "Is Hare available?" Nick asked.

The phone wasn't silent, what with the cacophony of noise that permeated from every corner of the room that the rabbit on the other end of the line was standing in, but she did not answer him for a moment. "Hare?" she asked, sounding confused. "Uh…" Nick knew it was probably impossible for her to tell if the buck was on the same planet as her from where she was standing, and did not envy the bunnies that answered phones in a warren. "If he _is_ he would be in the barn," she drawled out, not sounding the slightest bit confident in her assertion as she bit her lip while she spoke. "Would you like me to put it through?"

Nick nodded his head slowly. "Sure," he replied. "I'll call back if he isn't there. It's fairly important."

The doe on the other end of the line seemed to be reluctant, as she probably didn't want wait by the phone to see if he'd call back. He imagined she was thinking about whether or not he could be anywhere else, but after a moment she hummed at him. "Alright," she said absently, the sound of her punching in a code into the dialpad coming through the receiver. Nick had learned from Judy that the entire warren was wired with an internal directory of landlines, and any of the bunnies that lives there memorized the different codes for various important rooms in the house. Just another bizarre rabbit thing as far as he was concerned, though he guessed it did make sense with a house so large.

The cacophony of sound coming from the room around the doe was cut off by a sharp click, followed by the return of the electronic ringing. Nick took the opportunity to turn back around on the step, stretching his toes off the edge as he waited. Leaning back into the face of the payphone, the fox heaved the pawset around in his paws, getting a better grasp on it. He listened to the ringing for a moment, and grew less confident that he would be out in the barn, as he was fairly certain the weather in Bunnyburrow wasn't that far off from what it was like at the ZPA currently. The very thought of being in that barn when it was snowing made his tail swish back over his hind paws.

Halfway through one of the cycles, the ringing was cut off, and the sound that accompanies the absent static was a whirlwind of howling wind and creaking, old wood. "What is it?" a familiar voice barked into the microphone, distinct irritation laced throughout every word.

Nick's eyebrows rose high up onto his forehead at the tone of voice. "That's no way to speak to your sister's future partner," he replied, doing his best to suppress a chuckle. The fox actually wanted the buck's help, and he did not think laughing at him when he was so obviously pissed off was the wisest move in the current circumstances.

Hare groaned, and the sound of heavy metal tools being chucked haphazardly into a pile of junk shattered the droning noise of the wind. "Let's hope not," the buck mumbled under his breath, causing Nick to chuckle at the comment despite his consideration. The sounds of a roaring fire could also be heard, and after a small moment of silence, he could hear the rabbit heave open an iron hinge, the low creaking of metal filling the air between them.

"What are you doing out in the barn, Smokestack?" Nick asked as he leaned back into the face of the payphone, easing himself into the conversation so the agitated rabbit didn't slam the phone on him. It had already happened once. "Isn't it snowing over there, too?" The buck grunted as he tossed something away, the sounds of the object impacting with a dull crunch and and the fire crackling around it giving Nick the impression he was adding fuel to a fire.

"Yeah... It _is_ ," Hare replied bitterly. "I'm working on some stuff." After a moment of chucking more wood onto the fire, the sound of the iron hinge complaining as it was shut back into place filled the air. When he stood up, Judy's brother did so with a spiteful breath of air shooting out of his nose. "It seems like shit's breaking twice as often in the winter, and the damn carrot on the top of the tree is busted. I'm out here in the freezing ass cold rewiring a stupid carrot that I'm going to have to drag up a twenty-five foot pine when I'm done. It's just me and the wood stove out here. You'd think if it meant so damn much to them, they'd lend a paw."

Nick chuckled again at the woes of the Hopps family handymammal. "Sounds like you've got your paws busy," he said carefully.

Snorting at the fox, Hare could be heard slapping the butt of a cigarette carton harshly onto his desk, little bits of metal and hanging tools clinking in the background. After a few pounding motions, he brought the carton up to his teeth so he could rip the plastic off in one fluid motion. Another second went by until Nick heard him pull one of the bundles of fibrous material out between his buck teeth, tossing the carton across the desk. "That's right," he said with the cigarette in his mouth. A sharp click shot through the receiver followed by a few flicks of a lighter that finally caught after the fourth try.

When he was done igniting the end, the buck flicked the lighter back closed and tossed it across the desk. Hare took a long drag off of his cigarette, the embers on the tip of the bundle hissing with the rapid acceleration of its burning. After pulling the cigarette away from his face, he took in a sharp breath of air. "What's up?" he finally said before blowing out in a long breath the smoke that had completely filled his lungs. "What are you doin' calling me? Can you not get ahold of my sister?"

"I can't just call you without a reason?" Nick asked with a smile. Hare did not answer him, and the phone settled into an uneasy lull in conversation, the buck taking a few drags off his cigarette in the silence. From where Nick was, the howling wind and fire made for the silent treatment to his attempt at levity all the more ominous, and his smile fell off his face gradually. After a moment, his ears went the way of his smile, plastering themselves on the back of his head as he shut his eyes tightly. He abandoned his method of slowly leading his way into asking for help and took a deep breath. "The thing is... I need some help."

Hare scoffed at that. "Figures," he droned out, sucking in a shrill breath through his buck teeth. The creaking of old wood filled the receiver as the buck plopped down into a chair, puffing out a tired breath as he did. "I'm apparently the go-to damn bunny around here."

Ignoring his vitter slight towards his own family, Nick pulled the pawset closet to his ear, glancing around to make sure nobody was in hearing distance as he cupped his paw around the microphone. "It's about Judy's Christmas present," he said quietly, turning around on the step to stare at the face of the payphone fixture, shielding his voice with his body.

There was a long pause on the other end of the line as the buck let his words sink in. After a moment, Hare took another drag off of his cigarette before sighing. "It's a little late to be calling me about _that_ , don't you think?" he asked. Hare's chair creaked again as he shifted his weight on it, and the rabbit returned to whatever task he was doing before Nick had called, sifting through a pile of metal tools to find what he was looking for. "I kinda figured you for a last minute kind of guy, but this is a little ridiculous-"

"No, I already got it," Nick replied, cutting him off. The fox glance around his shoulder again, feeling nervous. It wasn't that he was particularly worried that mammals might overhear him, it was more the fact that he had never done what he was doing before. It felt awkward to be calling a friend's sibling to ask for advice of this sort, and that feeling made him pause. He ran his tongue over the tips of his sharp teeth, paying greater attention to his canines than any other, before continuing. "I'm just not sure she'll like it."

This time, Hare scoffed so loudly it made the fox pull the pawset slightly away. "Are you serious?" he asked incredulously, stopping his movement of pulling something metal from a pile of similar sounding objects. The buck let the question hang in the air for a minute, and Nick had to wonder if he half expected him to pull a 'gotcha' and ask him something else. When he did not respond, Hare scoffed again, though this time it was accompanied by a dry chuckle. "You're calling me because you think _Judy_ isn't going to like a _gift_ you're giving her?"

Nick felt his brow furrow on his forehead, his lips raising slightly to bare his teeth at the dismissive tone that he was using. "Would you take me seriously for once?" he asked harshly, his ears plastering even lower on his head, flattening out completely. "She _told_ me it's her first Christmas without her family." It was a fact that he had learned not long ago, and it had caused him to spend a lot of time - and money - making sure it would be okay. It was also the reason he felt so unsure, and thought it was necessary to call her brother to ask for help. "Now, I'm a poor substitute for nearly three hundred rabbits that she is immediately related to, so I need you to just cut me some slack and help me make sure I'm not screwing this up."

Hare sighed and stopped his light tinkering, tossing the tool back onto the pile with another heavy clank. "Nick, let me tell you something," he said pointedly, having no patience for whatever the fox had to say. "If you got her a gift at all, she's going to love it." The buck made sound between a groan and a scoff before taking another long drag off his cigarette. "And why do y'all keep calling me? How the hell am I supposed to know what to get either of you? Cheese and crackers, if you need somebody to just bounce ideas off of, draw a picture of me and tape it to the damn wall. Stop botherin' me about-"

"Does your sister like jewelry?" Nick asked plainly.

Another long pause filled the airwaves, Hare having stopped ranting and thoroughly abandoned his task in front of him. The only sound between them was the light noise of the cafeteria, the howling wind, and the fire. After what felt like a long moment, Hare sniffed harshly. "Jewelry?" he drawled out, his nasally tone laced with an incredulous air.

Nick clicked his tongue at the buck. He was not one to be easily angered, but the way Hare was dancing around answering his question was really starting to get on his nerves. "I didn't _know_ what else to get her, Smokestack," he said, biting every work out. "I got her a couple other things, but they're all small stuff. I wanted to get her something nice, and the only thing I saw was a necklace." Again, a silence permeated the call, and the fox found himself wishing he would have asked for Ellie, or even Cotton at this point. Hell, he was a hair away from believing asking her mother would have been better, and that was _not_ a great idea, as far as he was concerned. "Do you think she'd wear something like that?"

After a long few seconds, Nick heard the buck take a very slow and drawn out drag from his cigarette in thought. He blew the smoke out from his lungs in an equally drawn out motion. When he started again, Hare could be heard snuffing out the embers of his cigarette on the desk in front of him. "As clever as you think you are, you're pretty dumb, aren't you?"

* * *

 _11:43 am_

* * *

The biting wind whipped around the small fox, ruffling the small bits of rosette fur exposed to the cold winter air. Nick shivered again and pulled his body tighter together, holding onto every bit of dear warmth that he possessed. It was getting dangerously close to that fifteen minute mark, and he was running as short on patience as the number of limbs that he could feel the tips of. The wind picked up again and blew into the fox's huddled form with enough force to make him stumble slightly, forcing one of his hind paws to shoot out from its place in order to catch his fall. The todd groaned in distaste, feeling frigid air hit the tail that had until this point been sandwiched between his legs.

Nick glanced around down the snowy street again, not being able to see more than a couple hundred feet, and again saw no headlights. He was starting to get anxious, and not because Judy was late. It was because he was starting to think she really was going to find a block of ice when she finally arrived. A white cloud of breath that was stolen away by the wind finally spurred the fox into motion, pulling his paws out of his dark blue cadet jacket and lifting the padded collar up high enough that he could stick his freezing nose into the warmth beneath his clothes.

He had changed out of the workout uniform that all cadets had to wear while he was packing his bag. Having changed into something that wasn't so different from the clothes he usually wore, he had felt quite a bit more comfortable. His camo pants had been replaced by a pair of dark green winter slacks, and his t-shirt had been thankfully replaced by a long, maroon button-down collar shirt. He wasn't wearing a tie, but he did have on a Christmas themed cotton vest, pine green with snowflakes and jagged lines. Over everything he wore the cadet jacket that he had been issued for the extreme cold endurance training that they had to undergo.

All in all, it wasn't the worst Christmas eve he had spent outdoors, but it was definitely up there. Having already lost the encumbering warmth that his tail had been staying in, he kicked his hind paws around, shifting his weight between them as he widened the crater of snow he was standing in. Nick was pressed almost all the way up against the cobble pillar of the front gates, his dark blue duffle bag dropped into the slope of snow that wrapped around the base of a green light pole. If he craned his head to look back into the campus, he could see the parade ground in front of the Administration building coated in almost a foot of snow.

Standing just in front of the main gate, the Zootopia Police Academy sign stretched from the pillar that was behind him all the way across the entranceway into another cobble pillar, though the paved road that led into the complex beneath it was invisible under the falling blanket of snow. The Administration building was barely visible through the flurry and freezing fog, the only defining characteristics being the bright lights coming from the windows and the sharp points on its roof. Nick could not even see the water tower beyond, and the buildings he _could_ see had slopes of snow up their bases and sharp icicles pointing down to the white ground.

Nick stood back around, facing the road that _had_ been plowed not too long ago, though it was certainly difficult to tell. Having secured his nose into the inside of his jacket, his stuck his paws back into the outside pockets, attempting to retain some modicum of warmth within them. The universe did not see his warmth as particularly important, however, as a sudden surge of wind was the straw that broke the camel's back, and the nearly one foot of snow that had been piling on top of the cobble main gate shifted. It let loose several inches of snow that had been clinging on for dear life, and the slab of power tumbled towards the ground.

Just before the snow could hit the ground, it's path was blocked by a small mammal, slashing across his shoulders and onto the hood of his cadet jacket, covering him. Nick had tensed at the impact, but even after it had used up all of its strength, the fox stood stock still with snow all over him for several moments. Groaning, Nick shook himself around, flinging the water crystals in all directions. He glanced over to look at the snow piling on top of the other pillar, only to see that it was loaded with almost twice the amount of snow without losing any to the steep drop. Nick's eyes slowly returned to staring straight ahead, only this time they were narrowed dangerously and his brows were furrowed on his forehead

For whatever reason, Nick had believed he was just going to be standing out in the snow for just a couple moments, as Judy was usually very punctual, but he was now wondering why he thought something would go his way. He had always made his own luck, and more often than not it showed. The fox could only hope that Judy wouldn't be too much longer, as his fingers and toes had lost a good amount of feeling almost ten minutes prior, and now he it felt like he didn't even remember what having working appendages was like. The winter pawguards afforded to to him did little for his extended digits, and the ones on his hind pair just made the cold worse.

Taking his paws out of the jacket's outside pockets, he studied them for any signs of frostbite. It seemed a bit dramatic, but he didn't want Judy feeling guilty for any damage done to his rough pads. On his paws were a set of fingerless guards, made in the likeness of gloves, that protected the large pad of his palm and the thin fur from the cold. It wasn't exactly a mitten, but it served its purpose well enough. He had completely ruined enough mittens with his claws to know fingerless was the way to go unless you liked spending money, which he did not. He had precious little legitimate money saved up, and the pile had gotten even smaller thanks to the holiday.

The idea that he was getting _paid_ to go to school still seemed strange to him, but he was not one to complain. It honestly did not even occur to him to ask about anything like that until he got his first paycheck, and even then he thought it was a mixup. Imagine his surprise when he found out he could get an extra fifty dollars per check because he knew sign language. Passing that test was almost the first thing he did after he learned about it, not wanting to miss out on any of that sweet, sweet cash. Still, his two months of enrollment did little to mitigate the chunk he had taken out of it to buy Judy her presents. He didn't mind it, though. The fox may not have particularly _liked_ spending money, but spending it on Judy wasn't the same thing.

As he continued to study his paws, the faintest little flash of light caught his eye. Nick's head whipped around to gaze down the road, and sure enough there was a pair of dim lights growing brighter as they neared the entranceway. Standing completely still, the fox stared at the approaching vehicle with bated breath, silently praying that his rabbit had come to save him from the horrifying fate of freezing to death because of his own stubbornness. As the car sluggishly pushed through the blanket of snow and freezing fog, features started to become apparent. Nick had to calm himself when he recognized the hallmarks of a ZPD cruiser, believing it could be another sick joke by the universe.

His prayers were answered, though, because the cruised passed the entranceway completely, abruptly coming to a halt right in front of the fox. For a moment, he just stood there, watching the windshield wipers fling bits of snow off the sleek glass. Then, the passenger door to the cruiser opened, and standing on the seat inside was his bunny, struggling not to fall out as she held onto the door. Her elegant dark gray cotton coat covered a purple sweater underneath, bringing out her eyes beneath the oversized crimson beanie she had stolen from him, her ears stuffed up into the interior to keep them warm.

"What are you doing? Get in!" she called out to him, making the fox realize he was just standing there, staring. Spurred into motion, he snatched his rucksack from the base of the light pole, and started jogging towards the cruiser. "It's freezing!" Judy shivered harshly, closing her eyes tight and baring her buck teeth to the cold air. Chucking his bag onto the floorboard, Nick scrambled up into the cruiser, pulling himself up onto the passenger seat with a desperate fervor to get out of the cold. Just as Judy was closing the door to keep out at least some of the cold air, Nick's paw shot out to pull his tail in at the last moment.

The howling wind became a muffled wail in the interior of the cruiser, and Nick sprawled himself out on the seat, the material feeling like it was the water of life with how warm it was. "Cheese and Crackers," Nick mumbled, rolling around onto his back and rubbing himself into the cushion like he had a bad itch. After a moment of adequate friction, he rose himself up onto his elbows, looking up into Judy's amethyst eyes. Her expression reflected that of shock, and he attributed it to the cold as he pulled himself up into a sitting position, watching her twitching nose. "It just figures that my vacation would be like this - Oof!"

Judy had barreled into his chest with her arms out, burying herself into him. It was only for a split second, because she immediately reeled back in shock. "Ah!" she shrieked, pulling away like she had been burned. The doe's eyes snapped up to meet Nick's gaze, her mouth gaping. "You're cold as ice," Judy said, making Nick roll his eyes as he sat up completely, turning around on the seat so that he was properly orientated.

"That _is_ what happens when you stand in ice, Carrots," he droned back, his lips curling up into a smile. Her twitching nose slowed to a stop as she stared at him, and Nick watched her brow get progressively more furrowed. The expression of shock was replaced by determination as she puffed up her chest and moved back closer to the fox. To his surprise, she didn't immediately go in for a hug. Instead, her small, gray paws came up to grab at his jacket collar, working the cross button at the top. Nick's eyebrows shot up on his forehead as he glanced down at her working his jacket open "What are you doing?"

She grabbed hold of the zipper once she had undone all of the button, flicking open his front in one fluid motion to reveal his brightly colored clothes underneath. This time, she did wrap her arms around him, burying herself into his chest and snaking her paws between his jacket and vest around to his back. Her heat made Nick lightheaded in an instant, and he found his head swimming in warmth despite the fact that he could only barely feel his fingers. Judy's face was stuck into the cream colored fur of his neck, and when she spoke again, her hot breath snaked through his fur to his skin. "I'm warming you up, of course," she replied, eyes closing as she hugged him tighter.

Every muscle in his body relaxed against her, the initial tense from when she had hurtled into him melting away. Nick found his chin falling over her back slowly, and allowed himself to wallow in the feeling. Now within his vision was Judy's cotton tail down at the end of her gray coat, and with most of the warm air having been thrown out into the atmosphere, Nick thought that it might be cold. Bringing his paws around, he grabbed onto either side of his jacket and wrapped it around Judy's back, encapsulating both of them in the thick material, and he paid great attention in getting her tail inside the warm space. "Wow," he said, a lazy smile creeping up his muzzle as he leaning back into the seat. "You _are_ warm. Thanks."

Judy hummed into his neck, and he could feel a broad smile reaching up her face. They stayed like that for several moments, Nick only removing his wrapped arms to change the direction of the vent to blow right on them, the warm air feeling even better as he shifted around to get more comfortable. After a time, Judy shook her head from side to side, burrowing her face further into his neck until he felt the chilly tip of her nose press into his skin. Her breath blew right onto him now, and a low rumbled escaped his throat before he could think to stop it. "Have you really been standing outside since you called?" she said in a muffled voice directed into his fur. "You feel like you did."

A toothy smile crept up one side of the fox's muzzle, and he let his eyelids sink closed. "Nah," he replied lethargically, rubbing the pads of his paw behind Judy's back before sticking them out in front of the warm air. "This is just fifteen minutes worth of frostbite." Judy reacted by giggling breathily into his neck, her small body shaking on his chest. The fox could feel her heartbeat she was so close to him, her rapid flourishes seeming bizarre next his his steady beat. She had to stand on his legs in order to hug him like she was, and her hind paws supporting her were pressed together between the fox's legs, on either side of his tail. "So how was your first Christmas parade, Fluff?" he asked. "Did you take a lot of pictures?"

"Only a couple," she replied, pulling away only enough to bring her chin up, pressing herself back into him now that she was staring up at the underside of his muzzle, her neck flush with his. Nick turned his head sideways, peering down at her through one lidded eye with a lazy smile. "I took a few on my way out in the cruiser, but I was on duty while I was actually _at_ the parade." Judy stared up at him cheerfully, and the soft smile on her lips was just enough to show off her buck teeth just barely. "It was nice, though. All the colors and lights really looked cool in the snow."

Nick chuckled at her, the motion in his neck bouncing her around underneath him. When he leaned back into the cruiser's seat, he shut his eyes again, resigning himself to the comfort. "Well," he said, cocking his head to the side in resignation. "I'm glad _one_ of us had a decent morning." Judy laughed again, the paws that had been latched onto the back of his vest relaxing slightly to trail up his shoulderblades. They came to a rest when she had taken hold of his shoulders on either side of his neck, her forearms pressed tightly up against his back.

"Oh, yeah?" she asked nasally, blowing a bit of air up to ruffle the cream colored fur on his neck. Nick hummed at her antics, continuing to use her to bring his body back from the brink of freezing. She was like a little furnace pressed right into his chest, and just her closeness was intoxicating. That feeling was there again, rising from the pit of his stomach. If he had known what it was, he would have felt worried, but again he did not concern himself with knowing, instead just basking in whatever it was. He had plenty of time to think about it when it wasn't robbing him of precious time with his best friend. "How's the ZPA been treating you?"

One of Nick's green eyes peeked open, looking out the windshield and into the flurry of snow being illuminated by the headlights. He took a quick glance in the side mirror to see if they were blocking traffic, but as he suspected they were alone. "I'm not as young as I used to be, that's for sure." The fox turned his head again, gazing down at the rabbit stuffed inside his coat. She was watching him closely, he large eyes studying his features. "It's alright," he replied, shrugging lightly. "I've been talking more to the other cadets like you've told me to. I've found that I really don't have a lot in common with most of them, if I'm being honest."

Judy snorted up at him, pressing her chin into his neck when she tensed with the exhale. "What, there's not another ex-conmammal looking to make the world a better place?" she asked sarcastically, her own eyes growing lidded as she looked up at him. Nick couldn't get over how ridiculous she looked with his beanie on, with it thoroughly covering her head and most of her forehead with the knitted crimson material. She had swiped it off of him before he left, explaining that it was the perfect size to stuff her ears inside without it feeling weird. He didn't really mind. The cadet jacket's hood filled the void of his lost apparel well enough, and it looked way better on her than it did him.

"If there was, I'd take him to the ring for the title," Nick replied, glancing up again at the police cruiser's dash. The computer had been muted and was idly playing the weather forecast, large blotches of purple and pink spread across the coast in a swirling motion, pulling with it the cold, arctic air of the front. The fox was immediately disheartened by the realization that they couldn't stay like they were forever. His head tilted to the side to gaze into Judy's eyes, giving her a look of resignation. "As much as I enjoy this, we should head out of here. I don't want to be stuck in a buried cruiser for Christmas."

Judy just blinked at him for a moment, his words not really sinking in. Then, realization swept across her features, and her cheeks immediately flushed red. "Oh," she said lamely, prying her arms from his shoulder to pull them out from behind his back. Every inch she made between them was another painful wrench of heat away from his body, and her comforting heartbeat left him. She let his jacket slide off her as she stepped away, pulling off the fox completely. Judy was having a hard time looking at him at the present moment. "Right..." One of her paws came up to scratch her neck as she awkwardly made the trip back over to the driver's seat.

Watching her settle back into position to take them back into the city, the fox disappointedly fastened his coat back up. Thankfully, because of Judy he could feel his fingers and toes again, and he thought it would now be fine to push his hood off of his head. Nick looked down at his cadet jacket, feeling that feeling again as her lingering warmth still radiated off of his shirt underneath. Now that he could adequately _use_ his fingers again, he buttoned the cross piece on his collar, sealing away what was left of her touch within. "So are we heading straight to the apartment?" he asked, looking over at her as she pulled her seatbelt across her.

"That's the plan," she beamed back at him, throwing the cruiser into drive and starting their slogging journey back to the city. Judy's smile lessened somewhat as she looked down the road, her nose beginning to twitch. Turning her attention away for a moment, she adjusted her vents before cranking up the heat on the dash. When she was done, she glanced over at the fox to give him an inquisitive look. "Do you need me to stop somewhere on the way?"

Nick shook his head slowly before glancing out his own window, watching the last sights of the campus he would see for awhile vanish beyond the falling snow and fog. "Nope," he replied, falling easily back into his sarcastic demeanor now that she didn't have his brain turned to mush in her paws. Nick smiled lazily out into the snow, bringing up his paws to rest behind his head after attaching his own seatbelt. "I don't have to back until Wednesday, and I am not going to leave that apartment for _anything_." Shifting his back from side to side, he mimicked the motion at trying to scratch his back without his paws before groaning in pleasure when he found the most comfortable spot.

The wind whipped around the cruiser in a low howl, and Judy glanced over at Nick with a cocked eyebrow, looking at him skeptically. "What about morning runs?" she inquired. The question caused Nick to rolling his head over to look over at her incredulously before glancing back outside and then back to her, his brow tenting up on his forehead the more he confirmed that - yes - it was a blizzard outside, and - yes - she was asking him to run in it. Judy saw none of his disbelief, and merely interpreted it as him not wanting to keep up with his exercise while on vacation. "You're not going to come with me like usual?"

Scoffing, Nick's smile crept up his muzzle in a way that said he didn't know if she was being serious or if was an attempt at humor. It took a moment for him to realize that it was the former, and his brow subsequently furrowed on his forehead. "Are you telling me that you are going to run in _this_ weather?" he asked, waving his paws out from behind his head to gesture out the front windshield.

Judy puckered her lips in thought, humming as she turned back around to watch the road ahead. "I'm going to skip Christmas," she chirped, her buck teeth shining brightly from her broad smile. "But after that I will definitely be doing it. I can't just choose not to run through Tundratown because it's cold." She glanced over to the fox to see him glaring at her with an expression that was a mixture of disbelief and defeat. Giggling at him, she returned her eyes to the road. "It'll be fun, Slick. We can even stop at that coffee shop we went to last time."

Another spout of howling wind sung over the cruiser as he stared at her. After a long moment, he groaned, slumping back into the seat in complete resignation. "You are going to be the _death_ of me," he said in a low voice, pushing the pads of his fingers into his temples. Judy laughed at him again, and even though he was looking forward to not getting up at the crack of dawn to run in the snow, Nick couldn't help the smile growing on his muzzle. His exasperation was short lived, because spending a cold morning with Judy in a coffee shop actually sounded pretty nice in spite of himself.

A smug grin spread up the doe's face, and she turned to look at him with lidded eyes. "It'll be fun while it lasted, though," she replied in a singsong voice. Nick chuckled dryly at that, shaking his head before returning his eyes outside the passenger window. He was so relieved to be back in her company it was beginning to make him question things, and the fact that her touch had such an effect on him always seemed a little strange. Despite his reservations, he attributed it to just the simple fact that he was never a touchy mammal, and now he was just making up for lost time. As his paw snaked up to the spot on his chest where their hearts had been pressed up against each other, his brow furrowing slightly.

"Do you want to listen to some Gazelle?" Judy asked cheerfully, reaching over to the radio and punching the dial to turn it on. The high pitched vocals and instrumentals immediately blared through the speakers, but she thankfully twisted the volume down when she saw Nick wince at the noise. Returning to driving, she bounced around on the seat in tune with the rhythm, her head swaying side to side as she happily beamed out the window, and Nick could not help himself but to smile at her. "You know, she's having a concert over at the Zootennial Stadium around when you're going to graduate. We should get tickets before they're scalped."

Nick snorted at her, rolling his eyes as he looked back out the window. It was going to be a long drive back to the city in this weather, and while he usually didn't particularly care for Gazelle, Judy did. It took a moment for his eyes to trail down to his dark blue rucksack sitting on the floorboard, carefully looking over the lumpy shapes of her presents hidden away. Five was starting to seem like a little much to him, and he could only hope that she realized that at least three of them were relatively cheap. Nick was toying with the idea of keeping at least one of them to give to her another time.

If he was being honest, he would say he didn't actually know how much was _too_ much, seeing as how he hadn't really celebrated Christmas - or anything, for that matter - since he was nine. That was fine, though. He was going to celebrate it now, and while he still didn't think he was going to be enough to give her the holiday experience that she was used to, he was going to give her his best. Nick only hoped that they didn't burn alive because of a cooking disaster or get sick from cheap wine. Among his other concerns were Judy actually _liking_ his gifts, and the hope that they would make it to the apartment without her landlord sharing some choice words. So was the possibility of a ZPD emergency that would leave him home alone.

Nick silently reprimanded himself for thinking too much again. It was going to be fine. He had _earned_ that much.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

 **So, I imagine you may not have expected me back so soon. The explanation is very simple: back in September when I started Quid Pro Quo, I got the idea to do a Christmas story. Simple enough, right? Nope. I got the idea to do it only _after_ I was done with QPQ, and that meant I had to plan and then regiment a strict release schedule to not only finish QPQ, but give myself enough time to write a whole other story. Back in November, that release schedule crashed and burned as it conflicted with my work schedule. It turns out that you can't write several thousand words a day at the same time as working full-time without going crazy. Who knew? Anyway, that's why it got so quick there at the end. It was crunch time if I was going to write this, and crunch I did. To bad for me that my constant pushing got me a cold, and I had to push through the last chapter on my deathbed.**

 **Now, I am (mostly) recovered and writing again. I said their story wasn't over, and I did not lie. I'm working on replying to those reviews for chapter 21, but man did a lot more of those come in then I thought. Regardless, thanks for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2

_December 24th_

 _2:36 pm_

* * *

The lobby sat in silence, the only sound coming from the creaking of the old building and the muffled howling of the wind through the deserted streets of Zootopia. It was cozier than most, with a dusty looking sitting area pushed up into the corner in the front of the room, dim lights illuminating the scene of long abandoned magazines and fake plants littering the top of a glass table that sat in the middle of the arrangement. Stretching deeper into the building than wider, the lobby had the appearance of a long hallway rather than the entryway to an apartment building. The crystalline blue light that shined through the glass entrance waved on the beige tiles, falling snowflakes obstructing the overcast sky's radiance in a random flurry.

At the back of the room, next to a set of old, bronze elevator doors, was an unattended desk, the door that led into the back room behind it was closed. Various other doors and hallways that bled out into the rest of the building lined the walls of the lobby, all shut and sitting idle in the silence. On the other side of the back wall from the desk, an elevated platform took over a good portion of the floor, stairs leading up onto it sitting right beyond of the front door. A brown metal fixture was stuck to the wall next to the platform, sectioned off into a number of small, locked doors, each one having a painted number on their faces, and at the end of the platform it opened up into a stairway that led up into the building's higher floors.

It was eerily quiet, that was apparent. The occupants of the complex were either gone or doing their best to remain as silent as possible. It was as if the building was abandoned. The atmosphere could even mistakenly be thought of as peaceful, with how the snow gently drifted around the whirling on air outside, fluttering against the glass and sloping up in piles of powder that clung to the buildings that could be seen from the glass entrance. Even the artificial lights had remained off - the only one being a dim incandescent bulb that hung lazily above the sitting area, shining down a small amount of orange light onto the magazines.

The entranceway swung open in a harsh movement, and being freed from the hydraulic hold, the wind slammed it against the wall with such force that the glass shook inside the metal frame. Two figures with heads and shoulders coated in white specs flung themselves in the room, tripping over their own paws as they struggled to get inside. The one carrying a dark blue rucksack tossed it onto the floor, scurrying around to grab hold of the door, the frigid wind blowing throughout the lobby and flapping the pages of the magazines on the table. Calling out to his shorter companion, they finally were able to push the door closed with no small amount of effort.

Having thoroughly exerted themselves just by making the short trip from the cruiser to the front door, the fox and bunny slid down the door tiredly, thumping into a sitting position against the ground with a pained exhale. Nick heaved the air that was so much warmer than outside, feeling grateful that he had finally made it into a building. The shrieking wind that had cut through the silence of the lobby was gone again, replaced by the heavy breathing of the two mammals firmly rooted at the base of the door. Glancing over to the doe beside him, Nick looked Judy over, watching the flakes of snow begin to melt on the top of his crimson beanie.

After a moment, she shifted, tilting her head to meet his gaze. They stared at each other for a second before each of them broke out into broad smiles. Nick was the one to get up first, bracing his weight on his knee as he lifted himself off the ground. When he had found his balance, the fox twirled around, his tail swishing wildly behind him to flick off the clinging snow, and offered a paw down to the bunny still sitting on the floor. Beaming up at him, Judy took his offered paw, and allowed herself to be lifted almost clear off the ground by the larger mammal, bouncing onto her hind paws with a head start up the staircase and onto the platform.

Nick's eyes trailed after her as she swayed her cotton tail from side to side up the steps, her stride containing a gleeful skip. His lidded smile lingered for probably a few moments too long before he forced his gaze away, turning down to his discarded rucksack. Before picking it up, he kneeled down next to it, feeling the contents through the material to make sure he had not damaged anything in his haste. To his ultimate relief, none of the boxes felt even slightly dented. Straightening back upright, he held the dark blue bag in his paw, bringing it along with him as he strolled up to the base of the steps.

While Nick had been distracted retrieving his bag, Judy had skidded to a halt in front of the fixture of brown metal boxes, humming a Gazelle song to herself as she subtly danced in place, swaying with the rhythm. She fished around in her pant's pocket with her paw, bringing out her keychain complete with a stuffed carrot hanging alongside the glimmering pieces of metal. Moving in tandem with the beat, she stuck her key into the box with with the number '809' painted across the face and turned it, pulling it open with a wide grin only to see a whole stack of paper and advertisements filling the space beyond.

The fox could not help himself but laugh at the immediate halt in her breathy rendition of the pop song, her face and ears falling down into a scowl at the mountain of paper stuffed into the slot. Judy shot a pointed glare at the fox as he slowly made his way up the steps, narrowing her eyes at his apparent amusement. Puffing out her cheeks, she stuck both of her paws into the metal slot, bundling up all of the paper and pulling it into one precarious looking pile that she stuck into her chest. When the loose collection felt marginally secure in her arms, the doe shut the metal door, turned the key, and started making her way towards the staircase before she even pulled the key out.

Trailing behind her, Nick lazily walked across the platform, glancing down over the railing behind the counter. The door that lead into the back was closed now, but there was no telling when a particular uppity armadillo came bursting out to wish him a welcome home. That is, if a 'welcome home' meant a slew of passive aggressive slants towards predators with the cherry being her directing all of her complains at Judy, as she still refused to even acknowledge his existence. Nick rightfully pushed her existence out of his mind in kind, feeling not even the slightest need to pay her any mind when it was Christmas Eve, and he was spending it with the only mammal he really cared for.

Judy had already bounced all the way through the open passageway into the stairwell, and stood at the base of the steps, staring at the fox as he continued his nonchalant pace. The fact that she was tapping her foot impatiently on one of the steps just made the fox go slower, which got a particularly delightful reaction of pure scorn. Nick briefly considered letting up his antics and jogging with her all eight stories to her apartment considering it was that kind of season, but another part of him found far too much amusement in how she scrunched her lips up in impatient irritation at him.

When he was almost upon her, she shot up the flight with few three quick hops, landing with grace without so much as a stumble, maintaining her grasp on the collection of mail. In not-so-like action, when Nick reached the steps, he lethargically planted one paw in front of the other, not even skipping every other step like he normally did. His paw came up to grasp the pawrail gingerly, sliding it alongside himself as he smiled smugly up at the incredulous doe glaring down at him. He didn't see himself keeping up with the gag the whole way, as he probably wanted to get into the apartment as fast as her, but the temptation was certainly powerful.

Judy puffed her cheeks out dramatically as she brought one of her hind paws up into the air, stomping down on the ground with a surprisingly loud thud. "Hurry up, Nick!" she called down to him in a subdued voice, making sure she was stern without being too loud. Nodding her head down into the lobby, she glared at him with an implicit threat. "If she catches you, she'll talk my ear off so much that we're going to be stuck out here until the new year." She bolted out of Nick's sight in an instant, launching herself onto the next plateau in the stairway before the fox could even reach the first.

Rounding the corner, he took to returning to his usual two-step stride, climbing the flight twice as fast as he stared up at the rabbit that was impatiently watching him from above. "Would you calm down?" he asked with an amused tone, shaking his head slowly at her. "What is she going to say, 'no, you can't spend the holiday here'?" Nick came close to reaching the next plateau, and Judy again barreled up the staircase ahead of him, keeping her distance while still remaining close. In all honesty, he would have prefered for her her to take it easy a little bit so they could walk together, but he understood why she was like this. "There's nothing to worry about, Carrots."

Judy's small head popped out over the pawrailing, and she puffed up her cheeks at him as he ascended. "I don't want to get in _another_ argument with her, Nick," she called down to him, climbing the next flight with the fox just behind her. Floor after floor became the same, Nick almost reaching her, followed by the bunny hopping away from him. Just before the fox reached her again, he expected her to jump away, though this time her face reflected a thoughtful consideration. "We need to start looking for a new place right now so you don't get harassed in your own home," she said quietly, falling in beside him as he passed her. "She's unbelievable."

It took a moment for Nick to get over the fact that she wanted them to look for something more long-term as roommates. It made sense, what with their current setup, but it surprised him nonetheless, and in a pleasant way. "Let's not worry about that right now, huh?" he asked, turning his head to gaze down at the bunny climbing the steps beside him. Judy's eyes came up to meet his, comically overshadowed by his beanie. "I'd like to _enjoy_ my time away from the academy, and talking about your landlord is _not_ indicative of me having a good time."

Finally the pair reached the eighth floor, pushing open an old wooden door that made a shrill creak at the hinges, and opening up a long hallway for the two mammals. The wood beneath every pawfall was similarly aged, and floor protested even under their meager weight. The whole hallway had an earthy palette, from the yellowish paint on the floorboards, the garish green wallpaper with a pawpad print, and the tall brown baseboard that stretched up past Judy's elbows. It looked like something _he_ would wear, which was why he had wondered so frequently about how she apparently didn't like his shirts. She practically lived in one.

They made their way down the passageway without any real conviction on whether or not they should be running there, settling their pace into a brisk walk. In his time crawling around the city, he had seen plenty of apartment buildings that packed their tenants in, but this one was definitely a contender if you factored in the size classes of mammals it was usually rented to. In his two months of living in the Grand Pangolin Arms, never in his life had he gotten more sideways glances in a shower room. They had become ostracized around the building in the first week after it had become know they were living together.

Nearing a hallway that split perpendicularly from the path they were currently following, Judy trotted ahead to the corner. When she reached the edge, she shifted the stack of mail around in her arms, bring a paw out to hold up into the air to stop the fox. Nick narrowed his eyes, but nonetheless obliged. After a moment she took the stance of a cop and peeked around the corner, scanning down the hall for what, Nick could only guess. "What are we _doing_?" he asked incredulously, passing her to continue down the hallway without waiting for the 'all-clear'. "Breaking into your own apartment? Relax, Fluff, everything is going to be fine."

Judy scurried back up next to him after she saw he had completely disregarded her signaling, bringing a paw up to scratch the fur beneath his beanie absently. They walked in silence down the narrow hallway for a moment, the doe awkwardly keeping up with his long strides with a half skip. "Sorry," she whispered, causing the fox's head to tilt to the side to regard her shuffling alongside him, carrying the collection of mail close to her chest as she refused to meet his eyes. She seemed to have allowed her brain to wonder again, and her slowly twitching nose made the fox clench his jaw in thought.

On several occasions, she had tried to mitigate their exposure to distasteful glares by acting in a way that could clearly be perceived as her not wanting them to be seen together. She had the noblest of intentions, that being not wanting Nick to be subject to more bad looks than he already got, but every time she ended up feeling guilty about it. Judy had even gone so far as to get emotional when Nick had inquired whether or not she wanted him to act like they didn't know each other on the train. After that she had sworn that she wouldn't do it anymore without any real prompting on the fox's part, but there had still been the occasional time where she acted that way. It never bothered him to begin with - after all, he had technically done it for twenty years.

Nick spent a moment watching the bunny absentmindedly pat the top of his beanie where her ears were stored, the look of guilt written across her lavender eyes. Exhaling loudly through his snout, he turned back ahead, adjusting the rucksack in his grasp. "Oh, no," he said, waving his free paw through the air dismissively. "I completely understand where you're coming from. _Trust_ me." Judy finally looked up at him to gaze at his features, looking for any tell that he was just saying that to make her feel better, and found no such reason to think he was. Still, she started trailing behind him, allowing the fox to lead their way.

For just a moment, he felt like he should say something more, but at the familiar sight of a brightly colored front door mat coming into view, he held his tongue. There was no point in keeping that particular conversation going any longer than it had to. Nick's ears relaxed on his head at the sight of the pink mat, the word 'Welcome' written out in cartoonishly stylized lettering made to look like carrots with the same bright orange vegetable underlining the whole thing. Fishing around his pocket, he pulled out his keychain and dexterously flipped it around in his grasp to grab hold of an old key. With absolutely no hesitation, he stuck it in the lock, turned it around with a flick of his wrist, and pushed open the weathered brown door.

The sight was unbelievably relaxing to the fox. It had only been a little while since he had been back, but it felt like he was home again. Maybe because he was. Nothing in the room had really changed, the general layout pretty much retaining its cluttered appearance. Pressed up into the back wall was still the bed, pushed to the side against a stretch of red bricks that rose up the green wall; the window, Judy's clock and a few potted plants sitting idly on the windowsill with some miscellaneous clutter; and her desk, covered in files and papers galore along with the recent addition of a miniature Christmas tree with lights of all colors shining brightly in the dark room.

Nick's nose immediately picked up on the fact that his natural scent was still very present in the space, and a quick glance at the base of the bed told him why. When Nick had moved in, it was clear that he wasn't going to be sharing the bed with Judy. Sleeping on the floor also seemed like an inconvenient idea, so Nick had developed his own solution. Namely, gutting out the insides of her bed's wooden base and replacing it with a nest of twisted blankets and sheets that he could crawl into. It was true; Nick slept under the bed. He had slept in far tighter spots, but with the extra padding and warmth of the blankets, it was heavenly.

Closer to the front door you got, the more cluttered it became. The infamous bookcase was sitting against the wall to the fox's right, the shelves stuffed full with various kitchen equipment and utilities. The system they had worked out had Judy's shelf taking the form of a prep-station next to a toaster oven, her microwave sitting on a stack of file boxes to the side of the bookcase. On Nick's shelf, all of the hot-plates as well as anything that could inadvertently cause a fire were pressed into the back, waiting to be used. The rest of the shelf had been covered in what was usually stocking a full-sized kitchen, but on their limited space it made do.

The left of the door was the real disaster. It had become an amalgamation of both of their clothes in an inordinately complex system of shelves, boxes, clothes lines pinned up on the front door's frame, the drawers that they had pulled out of Judy's bed, and a dresser that had been gutted and turned into an open cube with a pole running through it to hang stuff off of. If the fox had to put words to what it looked like, 'fire hazard' immediately came to mind. It was not unlike other disasters he had seen in his life, only this one was uniquely bizarre in the fact that it was a merging of a fox mess and a bunny mess into one, violating who knows how many laws of nature.

There was various other details about the room that were strange. Some of them being the wall above Judy's desk had been completely covered in posters that had been turned the wrong way around, showing off nothing but a jagged white blob. Its purpose was discernible by the fact that Nick had taken two long clamps and secured them to either side of the brick section of wall. On top of those clamps, the fox had duct-taped a projector that had been thrown out in place, giving the pair the cheapest looking home movie setup he had seen in all of his thirty-two years of life, and he loved every bit of it.

For a moment, Nick basked in the glow of the apartment, allowing his ears to relax further back on his head as a dopey smile reached all the way up to his eyes. "Home sweet home," he mumbled, rolling his head around to gaze at the whole apartment in contented glee. The smile lessened, however, when the absence of noise except their breathing and the howling wind continued. Perking up his ears, he narrowed his eyes at the wall to his left.

"I _said_ ," Nick called out in the same direction, raising his voice slightly. "Home sweet home!" The fox was taken aback when there was again no reply.

Giggling behind him, Judy looked through the gap between the arm carrying his bag and his body, gazing in the apartment. "Bucky and Pronk are out of town visiting family," she informed him, causing the fox's eyebrows to shoot up further on his forehead. Nick craned his neck again, straining his ears to hear anything besides the weather. Amazingly, there was nothing, and he remained where he stood, gawking at the idea.

"Wow," he said absently, completely dumbstruck as how quiet it felt. He was no stranger to silence, but for more than a month he had gotten used to the constant bickering of the neighboring mammals and their petty marriage squabbles, not to mention the extended stay in a barracks filled with rowdy cadets, some of them almost half his age. He thought it was like a Christmas miracle as Judy impatiently pushed past him, flopping her collection of paper onto the small table that flanked the door to their left. She started the ritual of emptying her pockets into a decorative bowl with a practiced ease. "I never thought it could be so quiet," Nick whispered.

Snorting at the fox, Judy ventured further into the room, stopping in her tracks when a cloud of breath billowed out from her smiling mouth. She instantly pulled into herself tightly, wrapping her small arms over the front of her chest and looking around disappointedly. "Oh, sweet cheese and crackers," she said, running her eyes over the room for some kind of explanation for her discomfort. "It's freezing in here." She took another step towards her desk before stopping in her tracks, her stance falling down, readying herself to hop high into action at a moment's notice. " _My carrots!_ " she yelled, springing into action towards the windowsill.

Nick chuckled at how fast she rocketed over the orange clay pots that rested at the base of the window, small, doming sprouts of white flowers poking up into view. They had certainly grown since she had gotten them. Entering the home he shared with the grey bunny, he pulled his key out of the doorknob, hooking his heel around the base of the brown wood to shut it behind him. "Relax, Carrots," he called out to her, maneuvering around the walking space towards the back of the room where she stood. It had not taken him long to figure out that her fledgling garden would be fine. "It's not freezing in here."

Her head snapped around to glare at the fox, her paws carefully grasped around the base of the plant. In an attempt to warm it up, she had stuck her face into the pot, trapping her breath around the base of the plant with her paws, and she had come up with a bit of dirt clinging to the end of her twitching nose. "How would you know that?" she asked with narrowed eyes, pursing her lips at him, which just brought out another short few dry chuckled from the predator walking towards her. "Are you some kind of mammal thermometer?"

Shaking his head with his usual lidded smirk, he nodded at another item that sat alongside the plants. With a quick gesture of his free paw, he directed her attention towards a blue plastic bottle that sat in the grey light, filled halfway with completely liquid water. Blinking at the container, Judy pursed her lips again, awkwardly straightening out from her bent over stance to gaze at it. Coming up beside her, Nick smiled down at her, watching her blank expression shift slightly as her cheeks heated up. After a long moment, her eyes finally shot up to meet his amused look, refusing to move any other part of her body.

The doe looked away again, her paw coming back up to scratch her neck. "Oh," she said lamely, feeling more than a little embarrassed by the outburst. Nick replied by chuckling again, bringing up his paw to brush the dirt that clung to her twitching nose. Judy pulled back at his touch, her face heating up even more as she stared up into his eyes, raising both of her paws up to grab hold of either side of his crimson beanie situated on her head.

"Yeah, _'oh'_ ," he cheerfully replied, turning away from her to look at the desk. "Your garden is fine."

In the back of the clutter of papers and various items, the miniature Christmas tree was blinking sluggishly, alternating between a number of assorted color patterns. The vibrant lights really cemented the feeling of Christmas in the air for the fox, and the small collection of boxes that sat underneath the tree was honestly a surprise. Idly pushed up against the base was four wrapped presents, all sporting a spring green wrapping paper with cartoon carrots randomly orientated around the shapes. There were four of them, and Nick was immensely relieved that he had not gotten too many.

Bringing up his dark blue rucksack, the fox roughly unzipped the top with one paw, stuffing it into the space after it had been undone. One by one, he brought out presents of different sizes and shapes and plopped them down onto the desk near the tree. Nick heard the bunny's breath catch in her throat behind him, and she slowly entered the corner of his vision on the other side of her green wooden chair. He had taken the third present out, a rather large box that anyone would guess was a shirt or clothes of some kind, when she had turned to look up into his lidded eyes in complete astonishment.

"What's all this?" she asked, waving her paw out towards the randomly colored presents. It was clear with how well they had been wrapped and the genericness of the wrapping that he had gotten the clerks to do it, but her paws still came up to cover her mouth when the fourth one had already been placed and his paw reached into the bag again. She had been stunned so thoroughly that her nose did not even twitch once, only trading her wide, amethyst eyes between the growing pile and the fox. The last present he sat down was small, wrapped in a plain red paper with a gleaming golden bow. He sat that one down with special care.

Nick was reminded of something Hare had told him that morning when he looked back at her dumbstruck expression. He had been worried that he had gotten too many presents when he had learned that rabbits usually did not get very many presents personally. Lots of warrens got collective presents, family vacations, a new bulk set of communal toys, that sort of thing. Christmas would cost small fortunes otherwise, and getting expensive - or even several cheap - gifts was generally unheard of unless it was between very close relationships. "What does it look like?" he asked, eyeing her with a lazy smile. "They're presents."

The way she climbed up onto her chair with her eyes locked on the small assortment seemed strangely sad to him. Nick wished to make her first Christmas without her family memorable, but the way she looked like she had never seen so many presents with her name on it was disconcerting. It may have been a strange thought, what with the fact that he was equally new to seeing _four_ presents all with his name on it, but that was because he never really lived in a situation where that wouldn't be the case. Judy, however, had almost three-hundred siblings. He thought it must feel strangely lonely in a place like that.

"Five?" she asked, supporting her standing lean over the desk with a her paws. Judy's eyes slowly trailed around to meet Nick's, tilting her head to look at him. She wore a look of awestruck joy, the ghost of a smile forming on her lips. "You bought me _five_ presents?"

The fox nodded slowly at her, allowing a genuine smile to creep up his muzzle as he watched the light of the tree dance around her marvelous orbs. When she looked back down at the collection, her face shifted slightly, taking a turn towards worry. Judy chewed on her lip with her buck teeth as her eyebrows tented up beneath his beanie, trading her vision between both of their piles. "I only got you four..."

Nick barked out a laugh, catching the doe off guard a bit as he backed away from the desk. "It's not a competition, Carrots," he said, only half of his muzzle turning up into a parted grin, showing off his teeth on one side of his face. Turning only his torso, he tossed his rucksack through the air, landing at the edge of her bed with a loud thump. He spread his arms out to either side and leaned over his center of gravity, allowing his weight to tip him over. The fox bounced on the bed when he landed on it, letting out a contented grunt as after landing. There was barely an inch between his head and the stretch of bricks on the other side.

When he had settled onto the cushioned surface, he rolled around on his back, bringing his paws up over himself as he found the most comfortable position. After a moment of twisting his spine around, he went limp with a breathy sigh, staring up at the ceiling. His tail thumped against the wooden frame of the bed as it wagged without reservation, and a dopey smile split his face. He hummed in contention, allowing his eyes to slide closed in the blissful comfort.

"I know your work-in-progress farm is hanging on, but _I_ am not," he said lethargically. "Why don't you hit the radiator so we don't freeze to death?"

The sounds of Judy moving around the apartment filled his ears as he honed in on her busywork. It was a noise he had been sorely missing at the academy, and hearing the doe patter across the small space in every which direction doing things was so nice that it almost put him to sleep. He was home, and it felt _right_. She brushed past his legs on her way to the greening cast iron radiator, and his ear twitched at the sharp noise generated by her twisting the valve. Another moment passed as he anticipated her brushing past him again, and when he finally felt her, he swung his tail upwards to smack her in the chest playfully, generating a giggle and a swat on his hanging leg from her small paw.

For a brief second he wondered if he should just take a small power nap, but the unmistakable sound of Judy opening the fridge captured his attention. Pulling himself up on his elbows, he gazed at the rabbit stuck halfway into her tiny fridge. Right next to their kitchen-shelf, between her desk and the stack of file boxes that held up the microwave was a sleek looking mini-fridge. It was 'mini' by medium sized mammal standards anyway, but to the two of them it was just right. The dark gray face was opened away from him, giving the fox a clear view of the contents inside as well as the bunny bent over to look around inside.

"Alright, so check it out," she said, shifting her weight around to look at the fox. The piercing green eyes on her made her jerk slightly, having realized that he had already been watching her, but she brushed it off. Looking back into the fridge she started pointing stuff out to him as she spoke. "We have got carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, celery, lemons, parsnips, arugula, some bits of fruit." Her paw was rapidly tapping several plastic bags in a drawer she had opened, the contents obscured to the fox except for what she was telling him, and he watched her with great interest rattle off the things she had gotten from the store. Judy had a thoughtful look about her as her eyes darted around all of the food in the fridge.

"Blueberries here in the back, I got some peppers… and I think we still have a garlic clove around here somewhere," she continued, pulling herself further into the space to run her paws over the things she had placed near the back. "A couple chilis, rice, some beetroots, I put a couple different kinds of bread up in the box." Without looking, her paw rose above the door to point up at the top of their kitchen shelf, indicating she was talking about the breadbox she had gotten from Clawhauser, comically large for the amount of bread either of them could ever eat. Nick's eyes snapped back to Judy when she returned to her survey.

"And…" Her voice trailed off as her paws opened another drawer. It was _his_ drawer. That is to say, that was the drawer that they put all of the things that he would eat but she wouldn't; _meat_ things. "Let me know what you think of _these_ ," she said, hesitation filling her voice as if she was unsure about her purchases. She pulled out two shrink-wrapped styrofoam plates and held them out to Nick. They looked like what you would buy in the meat section of a grocery story, and the fox immediately sat up to take them, his eyebrows rising high up on his forehead.

The packages shined in the grey light coming from the window, and Nick gingerly retrieved the two plates from her to study them. Pressed into both of them by the plastic, sitting in neat rows, were long crustaceous tailfins, the hard armor, legs, and head already cleaned off. "Shrimp?" he asked, looking up with wide eyes to the rabbit gauging his reaction. She never bought meat, and every time he had gone to the store with her, the doe had made a point of making herself scarce while he was perusing the carnivore sections. It was fairly obvious to him that she didn't like going near them, yet now it was even more apparent that she had braved it to buy shrimp from a probably very confused cashier.

She grew bashful at his reaction, kicking her hind paws around absently as her paw instinctively came up to smooth down his beanie. "Yeah," she drawled out, turning away to look back into the fridge with no particular goal. Finding the condiments gave her no such freedom, she straightened back and gave Nick a toothy smile, hiding her embarrassment the best she could. "I remember you saying you liked the red kind," she said, pointing at the plates in the stunned fox's paws "But I couldn't decide between the Royal or the Northern. They both look red to me."

Nick's eyes fell back onto the shrimp tails in his grasp, glancing between them to discern some kind of difference. Some things he was pretty good at, but telling the difference between two different kinds of crustaceans was not one of them. Hell, he had only started cooking at the behest of the bunny in front of him, and could still barely tell the difference between types of lettuce. "Your guess is as good as mine, actually," he replied, his brow furrowing on his forehead. After a moment, he shrugged, offering them back out to Judy to return them back to the fridge. "I'll eat them both over the week anyway."

Watching the rabbit replace the shrimp, he wondered what that would even look like. The thought of Judy shyly trying to get the attention of a fish prepper, and then mistakenly being told which way the bathrooms were immediately came to mind. He should try to get her to do it again the next time they were at the store, and watch from afar to get a glimpse of such a bizarre sight. Maybe they even thought she was eating them herself. Nick suppressed the laughter that threatened to escape his muzzle as he studied the doe.

"So, have you consulted the book of knowledge?" he asked plainly. "What are we _attempting_ here?"

When Judy was done rearranging everything she had moved around in her survey, she glanced over at the fox, blinking at him. Realization struck her soon enough, and her mouth opened in an 'o' shape, revealing her buck teeth beneath her lips. "Oh, right," she said, hopping away from the fridge with a flick of her wrist so that is would closed behind her. "I took it to work and I've been looking through the stuff we went through and highlighted." Judy jumped sideways onto the chair, landing perfectly at her desk as she started brushing papers away. "It's not exactly Christmassy, but I think I've got it figured out."

Nick pulled himself off the bed and took the one step required for him him to loom over her shoulder, casually watching her search the contents of her desk for the book. "Well, let's see it," he replied.

Finally pushing a stack of folders around, the corner of her target became visible, and Judy grabbed onto it with one paw and pulled it out while holding the stack of paper on top of it in place, allowing it to fall into the void created by the book's retrieval. It was a cookbook, a sharply dressed otter holding out a bowl of nondescript food out on the cover. Across the top, the name 'Jamie Ottiver' written in bold, swirling letters.

They had picked it up on a whim in a checkout line because it advertised the fact that it contained recipes for both predators and prey inside, and Judy believed they were eating too much takeout. It turned out that the little book had become a staple of their venture into cooking for themselves, and it had seen its fair share of use. Sticky notes and page markers littered every side of the small book, all vibrant colored and beaten down to form with the its shape. Other notable characteristics were two long scorch marks that stretched up the glossy cover, slightly obscuring the otter's face. Battle scars, Judy liked to call them.

Pulling the book in front of her, she split it open at a Christmas themed sticky note with a big 'One' drawn out in her unmistakable handwriting. "Okay," she said, clicking her tongue in light, rapid successions. "To start, we've got a tomato chutney." Her paw came out to tap the right page, directing the fox's attention to some kind of red dip that had been poured into a cup. "It looks pretty easy, and it can go with one of those bread loafs I bought. Apparently it's like _artisan_ or something. It says we have to cool it, so I think we can just stick it in the snow outside to make it cool down a little faster, and then we can eat it while we're cooking."

Nick followed her gesturing, his eyes going between the bread box on the shelf, to the window with a collection of snow on the outside ledge. The thought of opening the window seemed like it wasn't the best idea in the current weather, but he did not react any more than cocking a brow. His gaze fell back onto the open book, skimming the ingredients and directions. Most importantly, though, his eyes shot over to a section below the dish's name, revealing the writer's opinion on how hard it was to make. The words 'super easy' was all he really cared about.

"Seems easy enough," Nick replied.

"Mhmm," she hummed happily, getting into the rhythm of detailing their game plan for dinner.

As much as she was prone to messing the actual cooking up, she always seemed to thoroughly enjoy the two of them getting prepared to cook a meal together. Nick leaned over her further, draping one of his paws across the back of her chair and supporting himself with the other paw on her desk. Studying the page closely, he had to re-read some of the directions twice just to get what they were trying to say. It was a wonder to him why they didn't write it like they were trying to teach a computer, because the wishy-washy 'flowing' sentence structure made a lot of the directions in the book unintelligible in his opinion, and it had led to mistakes.

As he was studying it, Judy grabbed onto another one of the Christmas themed sticky notes, flipping the pages around to show the next item. "Next, is…" Her voice trailing off as she flipped through the pages. "Ah." The book settled back into place, and on the page she had stopped at was a picture of cooked vegetables. "Roasted carrots, potatoes, and parsnip," she said, her tiny grey finger tapping across the page. "We can both eat this, and all we have to do is throw it on a pan and stick it in the toaster oven while everything else is going. We should start that at the same time as the chutney, because apparently it's going to take an hour and a half."

"Well, at least we won't have to do anything else to it," Nick replied absently, his eyes trained on the page in front of him. This one also claimed to be 'super easy', and he had to wonder if that was a criteria for her choices. Again, the fox found the instructions to be sorely lacking in details, and just the general idea was outlined in just a few short sentences. Being concise seemed appropriate for most things, but instructional directions that you were supposed to follow was not one of them. Nick hummed in thought at the page, tilting his head to the side. "Are we supposed to fiddle with it at all while it's in there?"

Judy studied the page at the same time, running her eyes over all of the information given. After a moment, her brow tented up behind his beanie and she started chewing on her bottom lip with her buck teeth. "I don't know…" she replied in a droning voice, rereading the passage. It would seem they were having similar luck in their quest for anything other than the greatest vagaries, and Judy turned the page to see if there was anything more, which there was not. "It doesn't say anything about that."

Sighing, Nick relaxed his lean somewhat, pulling away from his looming posture so that he wasn't crowding her. "Alright," Nick said with lidded eyes, resigning himself to not caring. "We will follow the wise words of Jamie Ottiver - or lack thereof - and _not_ touch anything." Judy nodded without looking at him, though his question seemed to put doubt in her mind in whether or not they were reading it right. "Learned that lesson before." Hesitating for a moment, the doe sitting at the desk finally turned the pages again, flipping to a page with a red outline, signifying it had meat in it.

"Next, we have our dishes," she said plainly, tapping her finger again off a page with what looked like a rice dish with shrimp in it. "I picked out a shrimp risotto for you. I'll chop the vegetables and things, but you'll have to follow this one. It's got more than ten steps, so that's your territory right there." Keeping her page with one of her paws, she flipped the book again, briefly showing the picture of a lush looking salad. "For me, it's a beetroot salad with a couple of the stuff I got from the store and the arugula. I don't have to start on that until everything else is almost done, though."

Reaching around her shoulders with the paw he had draped over her chair, he urged her to flip it back to the risotto, and she quickly returned it to his desired page. His fear was confirmed by the difficulty tag falling under 'not too hard', which was the cookbook's way of saying 'you could very well burn the shit out of this if you aren't careful'. Nick hummed in thought, a frown reaching its way across his muzzle. His record with anything that wasn't 'super easy' wasn't stellar, but the instructions seemed simple enough. One of the better attempts at explaining how to cook in just a few sentences, actually.

His emerald eyes fell on a couple of the more specific detailing regarding how the shrimp was to be prepared. "We can finish it early and stick it in the fridge," Nick said, engrossed in the page in front of him. He did not like the prospect of Judy losing her appetite because he was working with the shrimp around her salad's ingredients. "If I'm…" Pausing, the fox's eyes snapped down to a specific term that they used in the instructions. " _Sautéing_ the shrimp, then maybe we want to keep the salad as separate as possible."

The doe nodded slowly next to him, looking at the picture of shrimp blankly. "Okay," she agreed, thumbing through the book to rest on the page detailing her salad. Another 'super easy' denotation, and a simple picture of just some vegetables sliced up and thrown in a bowl. It seemed to him that the only thing he had to worry about was his meal, which was fine with him. He'd wouldn't feel as bad if he messed it up that way. "That sounds like a plan to me," Judy said, taking one more look at the page in front of her before turning her eyes up to the fox, whose head was practically only a few inches away, staring down at the book.

Nick's paw came up from the back of her chair, running his claws through the cream colored fur of his neck as he hummed in thought. "Do we need to…" he said, his voice trailing off as he tried to find the word. Finding no help within the pages of the cookbook, he took a quick glance around the apartment, looking around as if his answer was somewhere in the room. "Blanch anything?" he finished, looking back down into the bunny's eyes with his brow tented up on his forehead.

Blinking at the fox in front of her, Judy just stared at him for a moment. Eventually, her own brow furrowed above her eyes, and she looked down at the book before her without any real goal. "What does that mean again?" she finally asked, glancing at him through the corner of one of her eyes.

Nick blinked back, honestly not entirely sure himself. "It's that thing we did with the green beans that one time," Nick replied uncertainly, gesturing uselessly with the paw that wasn't supporting him. At the same time, both of them looked back down at the book, silently wishing that their 'book of knowledge' had more than pictures that took up the majority of the pages and enormous calorie counts. More often than not it generated more questions than it solved, and the constant encouragement to 'experiment' seemed like an oxymoron in what was ostensibly supposed to be an instruction manual.

"I don't _think_ so…" Judy replied with equal amounts of uncertainty. They stared at the page for a moment, each one engrossed in their own quiet consideration of what could possibly happen if they did or did not do something that they were supposed to, horror flashbacks running through Nick's mind. "Why?" she asked, tearing her purple orbs from the pages in front of them and up to the fox, who was chewing on his lip with narrow eyes directed at the cookbook. "Do you think we should?"

A long moment passed as he silently glared at the pages without really seeing anything new, though his mind was running through other recipes that he had read in the same book almost two months ago. "I'm pretty sure it said somewhere in this book that you were supposed to do that with celery," he said plainly, draping his bicep across her shoulders so he could stick the pad of his finger into the page's ingredient list, tapping his claw against the paper lightly. "And I know I read one about doing it with the beetroot." Nick tilted his head around to look at Judy, who was staring at his arm wrapped around her neck. "Aren't those going in your salad?"

Her head snapped around at the question, and for a moment she faltered in conjuring a reply, just opening and closing her mouth soundlessly. Finally she found her voice, and her eyes darted to the spot on the page where Nick's finger was pointing, reading the list. " _Yes_ ," she said quickly, clearing her throat when her voice cracked. The fox lifted his arm off her slowly, returning it to its spot on the backrest behind her. "It is." That feeling was back again, but the fox pushed it away to retain his attention on the discussion. After a moment of composing herself, she looked up at him. "Do you think that's necessary?"

Nick stared at the page for a short few seconds before straightening out, lifting his supporting paw off the desk and turning away from Judy. "Who knows?" he asked, making his way over to the kitchen shelf. His eyes scanned over the equipment on display, and he began to run through the list of things he would need for the steps on each one of the recipes. "We're already doing all of this other stuff, so there's no point in skimping out on work at this point." Narrowing his eyes at the back right of his shelf, he noticed a missing bottle that he had stored there. "Where's the olive oil?"

"It's on the top shelf, behind the toaster," she called over to him, and his ears pivoted on his head as he listened to her thumb through the cookbook again. Glancing up at the sleek metal toaster, he saw the faintest glimpses of a yellow bottle peeking over the top. Nick hummed in annoyance, standing up on his toes so he could push the toaster out of the way. "Oh!" Judy chirped, causing Nick to look over at her while precariously balanced on one hind paw to reach higher. She pointed up at the toaster that her was slowly pushing aside. "Get that down, too. The bread for the chutney is supposed to be toasted.

Rolling his eyes, he rooted himself back in place to grab hold of the metal device and bring it down to his body, placing it on Judy's shelf where it normally was. Coiling his knees, he readied himself for a pounce, bringing his stance as low as it could go before springing into motion. Nick soared through the air and up above the shelf, snatching the bottle of olive oil at the crest of his jump before landing back onto the ground with a graceful thump. Triumphantly looking at the bottle in his paw, he gave it a self-satisfactory lidden grin before placing it back where it was supposed to go.

When he turned to look at Judy, she was eyeing him incredulously, obviously not very amused with his acrobatics. She was sitting sideways on the chair and had her cheek resting in a paw that she had propped up on her elbow, cocking an eyebrow at him. "Really?" she asked in a droning tone, bringing out a broad, toothy smile in the fox in front of her. Nick just shrugged at her, returning to his silent check of inventory now that things had some semblance of order.

He went over the list again in his head, falling into a deep concentration. Bringing up his paw to rest on each object as he made a mental check of its presence, Nick licked the tips of his teeth in thought, taking a step back to observe the entire setup. They had the pots, pans, baking sheets, and generally everything else they needed, it would seem, but the fox checked over the inventory a second time to be sure. After he had taken a step forward to weigh the contents of an aluminum foil box, he stepped away towards the bed, finally satisfied that they were properly prepared for the task at paw.

"Cheese and crackers," Judy said in a breathy tone, shivering in her spot on the chair. She brought her paws up to roughly run over each of her arms quickly, trying to use friction to warm her up. "It's _still_ freezing in here." Nick watched her hop off the chair and kneel in front of the radiator as he undid the velcro of the guards on his front paws, pulling each one off and tossing them onto the bed beside him. "Did this thing break?" she asked, hovering her padless paws over the flaking green metal, waving them up and down its ribs before snaking underneath the fixture to feel any amount of warmth. "It's not warm at all."

Nick watched her fiddle with the valve out of the corner of his eye as he made his way to the front of the room, unbuttoning the cross latch of his cadet jacket. "Have you bled it recently?" he called back to her, pulling his zipper down in one fluid motion before he started taking it off. He slipped out of the coat quickly, folding it halfway so he could throw it over the clothing bar that hung off a shelf in the midst of their mess of clothes. When he turned around while he was unbuttoning the cuffs of his collared shirt, he was met with the sight of the rabbit cocking an eyebrow at him from across the room.

"My radiator?" she asked, jerking her head to the indicated object. Nick nodded as he made his way back towards her, beginning the process of rolling up his sleeves. The doe just blinked at him for a moment before her brow furrowed below his beanie, eying him with a narrow look. "What, do you want me to take a knife to it or something?" she questioned, hooking a thumb at the metal fixture behind her.

An amused grin pulled the fox's lips upwards as he regarded her with lidded eyes, stopping just short of the far end of the bed as he finished rolling up his sleeves. "No, dork," he replied with a dry chuckle, seeing her nose twitch at her apparent ignorance on the subject. With the arm that he was still rolling the sleeve on, he pointed at the side of the radiator where a little nozzle was jutting out of the metal. Above it, a bleed key was stuck onto a small valve bolt that Nick had never seen unattached, and likely hadn't been for a long time. "That little key sticking out there on the side, have you turned it recently?"

Judy studied the key with realization rolling over her features, having probably wondered a few times in the past about what the key had even been for. She turned her head slowly, looking over at the fox with a blank expression. "No," she confessed, trading her vision between Nick and the radiator. Finally, her purple orbs fell on the fox, and she gave him a questioning look. "Am I supposed to?"

Having completed his task of rolling his sleeves, he snatched an empty plastic cup that was on the desk and strolled over next to her. "If it's busted," he replied, kneeling down beside her. They were close together now, and Nick brought the cup up under the nozzle, tilting it slightly so that it would catch any water if it sprayed. With his other paw, he waved his pads barely an inch around the metal, coming to the same conclusion that Judy had come to; it was cold as ice. Humming, Nick braced himself and turned the key in a quick motion, tensing to jump out of the way if he had to.

Nothing happened, though. There was a light burp of air, but then the open valve settled into silence, no water or air at all blowing out of the nozzle. Over a period of seconds, Nick relaxed his tensed posture as he studied the radiator. "That's weird," he said absently, his brow furrowing up on his forehead. Giving Judy an inquisitive glance, he twisted the key back closed and rested his paw fully on the metal of the radiator. Finding that it was colder than the air around them, he pulled it away. "Did your landlord say anything about doing something with the pipes?"

The doe met his gaze with an increasingly worried look, her nose beginning to twitch on the forefront of her face. "No," she replied, looking at the useless knot of metal dejectedly. They both stared at the fixture for a long moment, and Nick was running through his mind all the things that he thought could cause it to stop working. Giving the current climate, one such issue seemed the most likely, though it was not exactly favorable if they wanted the heat back. "The shower I took this morning was a little weak, though," Judy said next to him, glancing up at the fox to see if that would give him some sort of idea, but he just looked more thoughtful than before.

Nick hummed in a low tone, flopping down on the ground from his kneel into a sitting position. "So it's a pressure issue..." The fox crossed his arms over his chest as he glared at the metal fixture that was supposed to be warming them up. Thankfully, that didn't strike him as a pipe bursting. Then again, if it _had_ burst just prior to Judy's shower, the hole on the other end of the ice blockage could have been reducing the pressure, or she might even have been using what water remained in the boiler.

Groaning, Nick brought up his paw to smooth down his ears in irritation. "That's _great_ ," he grumbled sarcastically.

Sitting down on her knees next to him, Judy positioned herself in a way that her eyes could quickly dart between him and the radiator, her ears nudging the inside of his beanie as they tried to perk up. "So…" she droned in a leading tone, rolling her head around and capturing the attention of the fox. Judy had placed her paws down on her thighs, but by the way she was wringing them he could tell she was nervous. Her eyes snapped into his gaze, giving him a look as she jerked her head towards the fixture. "How are you going to fix it?"

A loud snort escaped Nick's maw as he stared at her. " _Me?_ " he asked, bring up a paw to lay flat against his chest, his eyebrows raised high on his forehead. Judy just nodded at him, which caused Nick's brow to drop back down into a deep furrow. "If I go down to the basement, your landlord is going to turn me into a rug," he said, waving his paw back towards the front door. Her eyes followed the motion before coming back onto the fox with a blank expression, and he tried his best to not look like she had just asked him to go fix their apartment building's water supply. "There's no _way_ I can to do that."

Judy's brow dropped below the hem of his beanie, and she turned to give the radiator a dissatisfied look with an exaggerated gesture of her paw. "So what, we just have to freeze in here?" she asked, turning her attention back to the fox, who did not answer besides a noncommittal shrug. With a sharp click of her tongue, she rose up from the floor and looked back at their kitchen, followed by looking down at her heavy coat. "How are we supposed to cook in all of this?" she demanded, waving her paws down the length of her jacket's front. "It's going to be _so_ annoying trying to work in all of this the whole time."

Looking up at the rabbit in front of him, Nick let his eyes wonder around the apartment, searching for something that could make the cooking process easier in the cold air. Obviously, there wasn't much, but when his eyes fell on the stack of presents around the miniature Christmas tree, an idea popped into his mind. An amused grin spread across his muzzle as he slowly rose from his spot, watching Judy turn to meet his gaze. "I think it's time to open an early present," he said cheerfully, prompting the rabbit to frown at him. Without even having to take a step in any direction, Nick lifted the largest box on the table and presented it to the doe.

The bunny eyed the decoratively wrapped box skeptically, her twitching nose slowing to a halt as she glanced up to meet his expectant gaze. "How is that supposed to help?" she asked, looking back down at the present in the fox's paws. After a moment, she accepted the offered object, taking it carefully in her grasp and shaking it lightly, feeling its weight. Upon discovering that it felt like clothes of some sort, she cocked an eyebrow at the predator in front of her.

Smiling broadly at her, Nick's paws weaved behind his back as he watched her continue to inspect the present in her grasp. For whatever reason, she hesitated for a long moment, not sure if it was alright for her to actually open it. "Fret not, lady Carrots," he said, getting the doe to look up at him suspiciously. Nick brought one of his paws out to tap his claw on the box between them lightly, giving her a reassuring look before returning his it behind his back. "For I have the perfect solution." The triumphant smile only made the rabbit pause longer, but eventually she relented.

Judy pulled the bow loose with one quick motion, allowing the ribbon to fall away to the floor. After the wrapping was free of the sparkling material, she ripped the paper clean off, balling it the best she could with one paw and tossing it aside onto the bed. She dropped the long, white box onto the bed, and carefully lifted the lid up and over after she had cut the small pieces of scotch tape with her dull claws. Immediately on display was a blood red knitted Christmas sweater, with a pine green collar and white patterns. From its folded position in the box, the two mammals could only see the collar, the greater pattern hidden from view.

A long moment went by as Judy stared at the piece of clothing within. There was a number of things that she probably thought were immediately wrong. The most notable of which being the fact that it was far too large for her, actually almost being the perfect size for the fox looking over her shoulder. "An ugly sweater you bought for yourself?" she asked, tearing her eyes from the open box to look up at him.

Nick gave her a crooked, lidded grin, allowing some of his sharp teeth to poke out into view. "Look closer," he urged her, and the bunny looked back down into the box.

Bringing out both of her paws, Judy grabbed onto the piece of clothing on each shoulder, lifting it out of the box in a quick shake to unfold it. What she was immediately confronted with made her features go slack. In the front of the sweater, right in the middle of the pattern of grotesque looking monochrome depictions of mutant mammals, was a hole. It wasn't just any hole, it was a second collar built into the sweater's front, complete with it's own pine green accents and another smaller set of long sleeves that stretched out from where the belly button would be.

The rabbit had been caught off guard to the point of stunned silence. Slowly, her lips curled up in a grimace at the sight afforded to her, and she slowly turned her head to give the fox an incredulous gaze. "What in the heck is this monstrosity?" she ashed, shaking it around in front of her. Nick's smile grew at her apparent distaste, seeing as he had not really expected her to like it in the first place. Judy's disgusted expression snapped back to the piece of clothing in her grasp, and she studied it with morbid curiosity. "Where did you even _find_ something like this?"

Chuckling, Nick shuffled a little closer, leaning over so he was on the same level as her. "It's a gag gift," he informed her plainly, bringing up a paw to point at the shapes knitted into the material. "See the patterns?" In neat rows sectioned off by generic jagged lines, there was a number of simply made iconic imagery from a particular movie. It ranged from Mars, a robic taxi driver, a bear with a towel wrapped around his head, a chair with a circular machine behind it, and the same bear's face with puffed out eyes, screaming. "It's from Total Reclaw, and the second collar and sleeves are for Kuato," Nick said happily, almost giddy to see the gruesome sweater again. "The little mutant guy sticking out of the buffalo's stomach."

Judy nodded her head slowly, but it was clear by how her lips curled with her scrunched up her nose that she was still slightly appalled. Her nodding halted, however, when she turned her head slightly to look at the fox looming over her. "The movie that came out a couple years ago?" she asked, clearly not getting the reference as much as her nodding head let on. Nick raised his eyebrows at her, and watched her turn back around to look at the sweater. Judy gave the piece one more survey before her brow furrowed and her disgust turned to confusion. "I do not remember anything like this from Total Reclaw."

"What?" Nick asked, looking back at the sweater in disbelief. You would have to be blind or sleep through the entire movie not to see such iconic - Nick's brain halted, and his head snapped around to look at her with his own expression of disgust. "No, not the remake," he said harshly, watching the doe cock an eyebrow at the sweater without looking at him. "The one that came out like two decades ago."

"Ohhh," Judy drawled out, nodding her head in understanding, though it was clear she didn't understand. The rabbit still didn't have a clue what he was talking about, and Nick made a mental note to add the original movie to their list of stuff to watch, straightening out from his position. She was still regarding the piece of clothing with suspicion and no small amount of apprehension, but she seemed to be studying it with less revulsion and more curiosity now, so he thought it was well worth the purchase.

Leaning back into the desk behind him, he watched her for a moment. He really didn't have any reason to, but he found himself staring nonetheless as he crossed his arms and kicked up one of his hind paws. "I thought you could use the rest of it like a cloak or something," he informed her, gesturing with his snout despite the fact that she had her back to him. "And tie the sleeves around your waist." Judy pulled the sweater into her chest as she turned around, giving Nick a strange look. He really didn't know if she was interpreting it in the way he was implying or not, but he watched her reaction for any sign of her being adverse to his idea. "Or we could use it watching a movie."

Realization shot across her features as she looked back down at the red material, a smile splitting her face as she grasped what he was saying. "Or we could use it cooking!" she chirped happily, flipping it out again to look at the front of the sweater. It was thick enough to keep them fairly warm in the cold apartment, and with the shared body warmth they would be nice and toasty as they slaved away in their makeshift kitchen. "It's perfect for our setup!" Judy was now looking at the sweater with an expression he did not expect to see for the particular gift, but he was glad that she wasn't immediately dismissive of the idea, instead being the one to ultimately suggest it.

Nick nodded his head with a dopey grin as she stared with bright eyes at the gift. "That was my thought," he said lazily, watching her drape it over the back of the green chair. The next thing she did was start unbuttoning her heavy coat, and her purple cashmere sweater underneath was revealed after pulling it off. The lavender material went well with her eyes, and the stuffy collar made the fur of her neck stick up in weird directions when she turned it. Nick thought the way it shaped over her body made her look like model material, but knew from experience that was not something you told her out of the blue.

As she turned, Judy snatched up the sweater he had just given her, balling it up and throwing it into Nick's chest as she passed him on her way to the kitchen-shelf, and he lifted his paw up to keep it from falling onto the floor. "Here," she said a few seconds too late, and Nick cocked an eyebrow at her as she skipped around the green chair of the desk towards the kitchen. "Get it on." The fox snorted at her eagerness and glanced over to the clock sitting idly on the windowsill. The bright green digital lettering read that the time was just before three, and if they started now it probably wouldn't even be five by the time they were done. "I'm going to get the stuff from the fridge."

Looking back in the rabbit's direction, he saw her pull open the fridge and bend over to stick her entire torso inside, her fluffy cotton tail sticking high into the air. Chuckling to himself with a light shake of his head, he shook out the sweater as he brushed past the doe, turning it around in his grasp so it was the right way around. His pine green Christmas vest disappeared once he pulled the sweater over his head, snaking each arm through the set of larger sleeves before poking his head through the collar. The only sight of his maroon shirt was his collar, slightly sticking up past the green collar of the blood red sweater.

The fox looked down to see the set of smaller sleeves hanging limply almost all the way down to his knees. A small portion of the his green vest and its decorative snowflakes could be seen through the second collar in the middle of the sweater, and he had to wonder if this was a bad idea. Nick was no stranger to physical contact with Judy, but this seemed almost a little _too_ intimate. Honestly, it almost seemed a little too intimate for a married couple, it would be so close. It was starting to become clear to him why it was not only on clearance, but it was piled high with others like it, and not a single one had been bought.

Nick's thoughts were broken when Judy pushed him out of the way with her arms full of food items. Dropping all of the plastic bags and loose pieces of fruits and vegetables on the cutting board that rested on the second shortest shelf, the one that acted as her station, she turned around with a happy skip in her step to make a second trip. The fox watched her go for a moment before turning his attention to his own station, the shelf right above Judy's. Stepping up to the bookshelf, he started pulling various things forward, setting them up to be used. After they were in their places, he reached up behind the setup to flick a power strip that he had mounted to the back of his shelf on.

The majority of their kitchen peripherals were fairly new, with the various hotplates and the toaster oven being almost top of the line equipment. However, a lot of the other stuff was not so sleek, with their archaic rice cooker and beaten-up old kettle that was currently hanging off the side of the shelf. Nick relaxed in front of the station, his paws rising up to drape over the wooden space where he cooked. It was strangely comforting being back where he was standing, and his clawed fingers rapped across the surface in delighted contention. Cooking with Judy was not something he expected to miss, but in his two months in the academy, he had grown to miss absolutely _everything_ about her, even the parts that almost got him killed.

Allowing his eyes to wander over the space, he drank in the sights of his shelf. Taking up a good amount of space in his area was also a coffee maker, sitting idly by as it had not been used in some time. Judy had suggested that they get one of the newer ones with all kinds of bells and whistles that could make forty different kinds of caffeinated beverages and do your taxes at the same time, but Nick had been firmly against the idea. He just wanted something that could make coffee and not have a lot of moving parts that would break. His machine did just that, and that was all he could ask for.

As his claws were lightly scraping down the side of the pot, Judy pushed in between Nick and the shelf, taking her usual spot of standing between his hind paws. She dumped the rest of the things she had retrieved from the fridge and was off again, placing her paw on Nick's stomach as she moved around him. The fox craned his head to follow her as the doe walked away, her tail swishing behind her as she swayed with each step. He could hear by the light humming at she had gotten another Gazelle song in her head, and he smiled lazily at her as she bumped the fridge door closed with her butt, raising her paws into the air as if to show that they weren't used.

He had missed her energetic movements as much as everything else, and he had to tear his eyes away so that he wasn't caught staring, taking the time to start fiddling with the hotplate's controls. Nick was taking a pot down from the shelf above him when Judy pushed past behind him, strolling over to the horrible mess where all of their clothes and things were piled up. When she returned to his perception, she was carrying a music stand meant to hold score sheets in place while a mammal was playing. Nick turned to watch her adjust the height of the stand, pushing it up from the position where she had been using it to fall in between the required heights for both of them.

Locking the stand in its place, she hummed another set of tunes as she skipped past him, and the fox adjusted the spot where the music stand would go, pulling it closer to where they would be standing. When Judy returned again, she was holding the well-used cookbook between her fingers, and handed it up to the fox. With a contented smile, Nick took the book from her and sat it down on the stand. The spot the book was on had been pivoted to adjust only for Judy's height, which meant is was slightly too horizontal for the rabbit to comfortably read. Sticking his paws behind it to fiddle with the wing-nut that held it in place, he shifted it around so that she would more easily be able to use the book.

When Nick turned around to return to his station, Judy was already in the process of stepping up between his hind paws again, finally taking her place in front of him as they had finished preparing. Now that they would likely not be moving from the spot for some time, it had gotten to the point where the doe was supposed to join him in the sweater. After a brief pause, Judy looked up at him questioningly, her paws out in front of her resting on the cutting board with all of the vegetables. Nick nodded his head slowly, and she turned around to face him. For a moment, she looked unsure as she looked at the second collar in his shirt, her nose lightly twitching.

Without much warning, she grabbed the hem of the sweater and pushed it up his chest, giving herself enough headroom to press her body into him. Judy turned back to the shelf keeping the hem of the sweater above her, only this time she twisted around fully against him, her cashmere sweater gliding over his vest as she rolled. When she was fully facing the station, she backed all the way up into him and threw the sweater down over herself. or a moment, she just looked like a blob in his shirt with two grey paws sticking down to the ground. A smile crept up the fox's muzzle as he watched the blob move around to situate itself.

If he thought the ruffling inside his shirt had looked funny, he was sorely unprepared for the snort that he was unable to keep from escaping him when her little head popped out of his chest, his crimson beanie having been pulled off slightly to reveal the bases of her ears when she had passed through the opening. Chuckling at her, he adjusted the beanie on her head for her as she pulled each one of her arms through the sleeves. Nick took this time to marvel at how perfectly they fit into the sweater together, and how warm it was with both of them in it. Raising his chin back up to his station, he silently reveled in the feeling.

"Wow," she said with a pleasantly surprised look, tilting her chin upwards so that the top of her head was pressed into his chest. Looking down, he saw Judy watching him with a soft smile across her lips, her enormous buck teeth peeking through. She was making a show rubbing her paws up and down the sleeves of the sweater as she watching him. "It's soft," Judy chirped happily, closing her eyes to beam up at him. The feelings that immediately radiated out of Nick's stomach sent a shiver down his spine, and he smiled back, strangle unable to find any witty words to send back at her.

As far as Judy was concerned, that was that, and she turned her attention down to her work station and began unraveling the vegetables in front of her from their plastic containers. Nick, on the other hand, was having a difficult time concentrating at the present time, and found his eyes aimlessly looking around his station as he desperately tried to think in full sentences again. The doe in his sweater began humming again, and she lightly danced in place, swinging her shoulders in time with her hips. She didn't seem to notice or care that her tail was dragging against his stomach, which just made the task of thinking even harder for the fox. "Is the knife up there?" she asked, tilting her head up.

His lapse in cognisance over, Nick's mind snapped into motion, and his paws followed suit, rising up into his station to get to work on his own tasks. "I thought you'd like it," he lied, referring to the sweater. It was not like he thought that she would hate it, but he kinda figured she wouldn't wear it for obvious reasons, and he never in a million years thought they would be wearing it at the same time. Nick's paw rested on the knife stand, but he paused in retrieving one. "Vegetable or chef's?" he asked her, looking down at the distinctly untidy pile of food that she had created on the far end of the cutting board.

Judy looked up to meet his eyes with a smile. "Vegetable," she answered before turning back down to her work.

Nodding at her, his paw moved from the handle it had rested on over to another knife, pulling it out of the wooden block where it was housed. Nick pinched the pads of his thumb and finger on the smaller blade, and lowered it in front of the doe that was pulling all of the tomatoes out of the pile. With a mouthed 'thank you', she grabbed the knife by the handle and immediately started chopping the red fruits.

He watched her work for a moment, feeling like he didn't have as much to do. Their attempts into cooking had them taking various roles built around what stocked their individual shelves, and it just so happened to be that Nick often didn't have a lot to do at the beginning, but was more often than not responsible for the final steps. After a long moment of watching her happily cut the tomatoes, he turned his head to the music stand beside them, bringing up a paw to flip the book open to have a look at the directions. "Are you starting on the chutney?" he asked, resting the pages on the same food item.

"Yup," she chirped up at him, beginning her swaying dance of alternating between bending one knee and then the other again.

Nick hummed back as he read the instructions. For whatever reason, they had specific grams measures out on the ingredients list, so he turned away to retrieve a measuring cup from the top shelf and placed it to the side to be used later. They had a paper bag of brown sugar within reach, too, so he struck that off the list. Red wine vinegar was also on the list, and with a quick glance down to Judy's station, he saw that she had indeed retrieved it from the fridge.

The fox reserved himself to preparing the pot at the very least. "Alright," he drawled to himself more than anyone else. Looking up at the top shelf, he scanned the various containers within sight until his green eyes fell onto a medium sized pot. "We'll need this for the simmering…" The fox reached up and snatched the reflective piece of metal easily, plopping it down onto one of the hotplates in front of him.

Unfortunately, that was the extent of his preparing the pot, which meant he was again without much to do. Shooting out a quick breath of air as he regarded the instructions, he looked down at the rabbit sticking out of the front of his sweater. "Give me the unions. I'll peel them while you work on the tomatos."

Her song stopped momentarily as she glanced up at him with raised eyebrows. An enormous smile spread across her face as she looked back down to her pile of edible plants. "Onions coming up," she said happily, dropping her knife down to grab onto a few purple and ivory bulbs.

With quick flicks of her wrist, she tossed them up into the air where the fox could catch them dexterously, setting them down in front of him as they came. When he had all of them, Nick got to work searching through the knife set to find the appropriate tool. Choosing the generic looking chef's knife, he reached his paw down to grab the half-sized cutting board they stored between the shelf's wall and the toaster oven.

"Are we using these for anything else?" he asked, setting up his station neatly with straight lines of onions just beyond the cutting board. Nick unsheathed the claw on his index finger and stabbed the side of one of the red onions, bring it up onto the board as he retrieved the knife. He glanced down at the rabbit while he cut on of the ends off the union, watching her bite her lip in thought.

Judy glanced around to look at the book, but since it was just left on the chutney, she found no such help. "One of them is for the risotto, so leave that," she said after a moment of thought, tapping the knife against the cutting board lightly. Turning back to her dicing, Nick marveled at the speed in which she chopped the tomatoes. It was pretty obvious that cutting vegetables for almost three hundred bunnies gave her plenty of practice. "Also, leave like a quarter of one for my salad."

Tearing his eyes away from her, Nick returned to chopping the red onion in front of him. "You got it, Chef," he replied lazily, another dull smile reaching its way over his face. It settled down into silence for a while after that, the odd pair engrossed in their own tasks of preparing the food. He had missed this. It wasn't just doing things with Judy, it was _not_ doing things with Judy; the quiet moments where they both just sat silently in their own world together. It gave him a peace of mind that he had been so unfamiliar with for so long in his life, and now he would not change it for the world.

After a long moment, Judy scraped all of the diced tomatoes into a small pile with quick flourishes of her wrist, and she patted her paws together after dropping the knife in place. "Let me call Armadia," she said, raising up the sweater a couple inches so she could stick her paw into her back pocket, pulling out her iCarrot and tapping it on within Nick's eyesight. "And see if we can get this pipe situation fixed. As warm as this is, I don't think we are going to be able to sleep in this thing."

Nick looked down to what she was doing on her phone, and he nearly cut his finger off at the image that greeted him. Her wallpaper was _still_ that image she had taken in the loft, her beaming face sticking out from under his shoulder with his tongue drooping out of his mouth. He was honestly hoping that she would have changed it by now, but she hadn't. "The cooking should heat it up some, hopefully," he replied, regaining his composure as he turned his attention back to the knife. He paused in his action when he looked at the impaled bulb in front of him, his eyes falling on the point where his claw was stuck into the red skin.

Frowning, he carefully removed his claw from the onions layers and resheathed it. Nick grabbed the half of the onion he had stabbed and set it to the side, resigning that one to his meal since he doubted she wanted his claws all in her food. He was sure he had thoroughly washed them before leaving the academy, and everything he touched after that was too cold to have bacteria just hanging out on it, but he still didn't like to cook without cleaning them. He wasn't eating food out of a can anymore, he was cooking for two, and he should act like it. The fox studied his paws for a moment in thought before looking down at the rabbit. "Where's the paw sanitizer?" he asked.

Judy did not look up at him as she tapped away at her phone. Instead, her paw shot up and pointed at the back of his shelf without her even having to confirm that it was actually there. "Right where it _always_ is," she replied flatly, returning to her phone. The doe began dancing again as Nick looked up to where she had pointed to, see that, in fact, it was right where it always was.

"Oh," Nick said lamely, picking it up and flicking the lid open. "Right."

The fox dumped a generous amount of sanitizer on the pad of his palm and started rubbing it into his fur thoroughly, surveying the scene in front of him. As he was scraping the tips of his fingers together to rub the solution around his claws, he glanced back over to the cookbook with lidded eyes. What the hell _was_ a 'chutney', anyway?


	3. Chapter 3

_December 24th_

 _4:53 pm  
_

* * *

 _Increase the heat, add the tomato, then pour in a ladleful of hot stock. Keep stirring and adding stock, a ladleful at a time, waiting for the rice to soak it all up before adding the next ladleful. Continue until you've added two-thirds of the stock_ , Nick read silently, mouthing the words subtly. The fox narrowed his eyes as he craned his head towards the book sitting on the music stand to his right. It was the third time he had read the instructions, and he found himself wondering what exactly 'increase the heat' entailed. Was he supposed to crack it all the way up, or just a couple notches? The todd blew a quick breath of air out of his nose, turning back to look at the very active shelf.

The medium pan that sat on the hotplate immediately in front of him sizzled in the cool air of the apartment. The scents and feelings of the food wafted out of the shelf space in warm gusts of air and directly into the fox's snout, filling his senses with the delectable sensations of the vegetable broth that Judy had gotten at the store being absorbed into the rice. Sitting neatly in separate piles on the wooden cutting board that sat next to the occupied hotplate was a collection of cleaned shrimp and a small bit of scrap vegetables left over from his preparations. The knife he had been using absently discarded and replaced by a wooden spoon in his paw.

It was still bright out, but just barely. The grey light that shown in from the window was framed on all sides by frost and snow piling up on the outside ledge. The flurry of snowflakes fell down through their view in a fervent flutter, snapping around each other as they no-so-gently glided down to the streets below. The inside of the apartment was not as warm as he would have assumed - even with multiple hotplates and the toaster oven going all at once, the warm licks of air were merely fleeting against Nick's fur as the biting chill still encased itself around them. Judy looked pretty warm, though, since he was protecting her back with his body and her front enjoyed the closest touches of the lapping electrical heat.

For whatever reason, they had taken their time cooking. It was his first day back from the academy in what felt like a long time, and they had made sure to fill every meandering moment with comfortable conversation and slow, indulgent movements. The roasting root vegetables and garlic, that were only supposed to take a little under two hours, had taken them almost three. They had concocted stupid games and rules for each other while they worked, and the process was dragged out to such an extent that it had gotten _much_ later in the evening than they had planned for. You would not find either of them complaining, however, as they were the very picture of contentedness - pressed up against each other in an ugly, gruesome and cozy Christmas sweater.

Sometime during the activity, the fox had pulled his tail around to drape over both of their sets of hind paws, covering them from the cold air of the apartment. Judy would only be visible if you were to stand right next to the pair, as she was completely covered except for small areas of her legs, her small grey paws, and her face sticking out of the bottom of Nick's crimson beanie. They had enjoyed the protection from the cold air in each other's close proximity for a few hours straight now, and neither one looked the slightest bit ready to give it up. In fact, they had actually pulled closer together as the evening dragged on while the overall temperature of the room continued to fall.

Nick stirred the rice and onions absently with one paw, noting that his latest addition of broth was almost completely gone. With a lazy zeal, Nick glanced over to the only other hotplate being used on his shelf, the others all having been abandoned and pushed to the back to make more room for him to work, all still coated in the ingredients of their endeavors. Sitting on the hotplate was a bubbling pot of brownish and red liquid, chunks of basil, onion, the removed shells of the shrimp that sat idly to the side, and bits of garlic that Judy had cut for him. The fox bent over to take a long drag off the rising vapor and moaned in ecstasy, his muscles relaxing as a dopey smile crept up his face.

The bunny invading his sweater, with no complaints from the fox, stood just in front of him and chuckled breathily as she continued her own work, delicately preparing a small dish of seasoned lemon juice. The doe was humming a tune as she swayed against his body again, only this time it was the song 'Hey Jude' from The Beagles. It had honestly been a joke on Nick's part to allude to the possibility that she might have liked the song considering the name, but he was pleasantly surprised that it had gotten her to drop her incessant mimicking of the lyrics to 'Try Everything', in any case.

"At least _one_ of us is enjoying the aromas of your little sea monsters," she chirped up at him, tilting her head to the side and up while still keeping her eyes on the lemon she was squeezing into the small dish. She had kept her hips moving with the song even though she had stopped humming it, and when she was done with her comment the rabbit fell right back into the tune without skipping a beat.

Nick pulled his head out of the shelf to peer down at her with a crooked smile, watching her small paws work the lemon around with lidded eyes. "Just because you can't appreciate the wonderful subtleties of meat does not give you a right to insult them," he replied in a droning, yet contented voice. "I don't think it's good manners to say that in front of them after they've already had such a bad day." As he was speaking, the fox pulled up the arm that had been comfortably resting at his side to grasp the handle of a long, shiny ladle that was hanging off the side of the pot of steaming broth.

Giggling at him again, Judy discarded the used up lemon into a growing pile of scraps. The way she moved underneath the sweater had been distracting to the fox. It hadn't really flustered him or sent his mind to places it ought not to go, but it was strangely comforting to share such a small space with her while doing such a banal task as cooking. Usually, they would only be so close for more intimate gesture, of which there had been a few. Despite that, however, it felt like the sweater was a lot more _personal_ than any of their other shared gestures had before, and for whatever reason it had a greater effect on him.

A moment passed as he absentmindedly stirred the broth with the ladle, and he allowed his mind to wonder what could be cause. Maybe it was the fact that he had been starved of her physical company for so long, and was merely being affected by the comforting mood as well as the relief he felt for being near her. Whatever the case might be, he was glad for the feeling. It did more to calm the knots and nerves that had built up in her absence more than a hundred trips to the payphone could, and he would not trade it for the world. Careful not to allow the suction caused by dipping the ladle into the broth to fill the bowl with shrimp shells, he scooped out another portion and dumped it across the cooking rice, giving the utensil a light shake.

While Nick was returning the ladle to its spot of being hooked onto the lip of the pot containing the broth, he turned his head to gaze at the worn cookbook again. They had already completed the work for everything else; the roasting vegetables sat inside the toaster oven, heat radiating into the side of their sweater from the sweltering door; the chutney had already been completed and consumed, nothing left but bread crumbs and a chilled jar smeared on all the sides with the remnants, sprinkled with more crumbs; and Judy's salad had been already been wrapped in plastic and stuck in the fridge for when they were done. All that remained was finishing up Nick's shrimp, which they opted to do last to minimize the contamination risk.

The chutney had not lasted long between the two of them. When the substance had turned jammy in its pot, they had carefully poured it into a mason jar. Their collection of mismatched dishes grew every time the two of the finished off a jar of moonshine, but that was a slow and tedious process even with both of them working on a single container. In truth, they had only completed two of them, and that was mostly because Judy had spilled half of one on accident. The leftover jars found their uses in the two mammal's kitchen, though, and they thoroughly enjoyed the chutney they had made together as they worked.

It was all almost too good to be true, as far as Nick was concerned. Who would have thought that following directions out of a cookbook in a makeshift kitchen that they built out of a bookshelf would have so rapidly become such a blissful staple of his life? Not Nick, that's for sure. In fact, he was pretty certain that the whole cooking thing was one of the worst ideas Judy had, and it was made even worse by the means in which she facilitated that cooking. Though he may not admit it, he could not deny that as he was pressed into her backside under the enveloping warmth of the sweater that kept their gently mingling body heat around each other, he was the textbook definition of content.

Nick's lidded gaze swept over the open face of the book, searching for directions that he knew he would only vaguely receive, as if he was asking an oracle that only spoke in riddles. He still had a few more ladlefuls of broth to go before he was supposed to add the shrimp, and Judy was already hard at work preparing the lemon juice. However, he had skipped a step marked as 'optional' since he had lacked the ingredients, but now that he was just continuously stirring the broth into the rice and onions, he wondered if he should improvise in completing the step with the closest thing he had; red wine.

The recipe clearly called for white wine, but Nick was no stranger to flagrantly disregarding the book's suggestions when he felt like he could, and this particular instance made him believe that he could get away with it. Turning away from the occupied music stand, the fox glanced up to the shelf above his, momentarily retreating from the wafts of warm air and delectable smells to lean back into his heals. It was mostly pots, pan, and all of their dishes, really that lined the space, but a sleek grey tub with various cutlery and dirty dishes stacked higher than its edges sat pushed to the far left wall, and next to that sat a dark bottle made of green glass.

Trading the wooden spoon between his paws so that he could reach up with his left paw to grab the bottle, he pulled it down promptly, turning it around in his paw to study the label. It definitely _looked_ cheap, whatever it was, but it still had the possibility to be good. It was certainly tantamount to a snowball's chance in Hell, but in his experience, even _that_ particular gamble had sometimes turned out alright in the end. Nick's green eyes glanced down at the paper label that was stuck to the front. He had to regard it for a number of seconds to decipher the swirling font from what was obviously a very clear attempt to make it look more expensive than it was.

 _Château Stella Cabernet Sauvignon_ , it read out, and Nick had to think that wherever this 'château' was, it probably did not look at all like what most mammals assumed it would. If he was a betting todd, (and he wasn't anymore) he would say it was a flat warehouse building with an ornate sign stuck on the side of the highway somewhere. He had seen as much on a few hustles that required his knowledge of wine. Glancing over at the bottom half of the label, he locked his gaze on some more declaratory information, though it was purposefully hidden under what they wanted you to pay attention to.

 _Sambarmento, Califurnia_. Nick stared at the name of the city the wine was made in blankly, feeling like he had just confirmed his assumption of a warehouse with an quasi-elegant sign. Another piece of interesting information was the fact that it was bottled in 2015, a little over a year ago. For whatever reason, Judy had reached out her paw and grabbed the one bottle on the shelf that probably had the smallest chance of all to be good. She had a knack for doing that, and on the few occasions they had gone to the store together, he had to return the bottle she had placed in their basket to get something that didn't _taste_ how it was _priced_.

Nick tested the bottle's weight in his grasp by lightly tossing it into the air, and after catching sight of a price tag stuck to the bottom of the bottle, he pivoted his wrist around to read it. The piece of paper stuck to the bottom of the glass was from the grocery store between here and the subway station she took to work, and the very clear 'six dollars and forty-nine cents' illuminated the reason why Judy had picked this particular bottle. One would think that someone who grew up on a farm and appreciated fresh produce would have a more specific taste for wines, but it seemed like the only thing Judy cared about in her selection process was the price-tag.

A moment passed as he stared at the bottle blankly, drinking in the details of apparent bargain nature of the red liquid. It took a long second, but Nick finally shot another breath of air out of his nose, shrugging absently as he went looking for the corkscrew on the shelf above him. While he may have had the knowledge associated with someone who would consider themselves "cultured" in terms of wine, he honestly did not pretend to care about whether or not he was drinking budget grape-juice or fine wine sourced from only the most prestigious of châteaus. The difference in taste was usually not worth the difference in cost.

Hanging on the side of the shelf's wall above him was a small rack of various kitchen tools, ranging from tongs to a few top grill-brushes that were not often used. The only thing that was _not_ collecting dust on the rack, hanging from a loop of ball-chain, was a flip-out corkscrew. Nick would not say that drank _a lot_ of alcohol, but when he was living there they did go through more than a few bottles of wine. Reaching out his paw, the fox pulled the tool's chain up and over the rack's hook, flipping it open with one paw has he lowered it to the wine bottle. Shifting both items in his paw, he brought them together in the way they were designed.

In just a few short rotations, Nick had effortlessly buried the spiraling metal into the soft wood of the cork, and brought the wine bottle closer to his chest so that he could brace for the removal. Tensing, the todd ripped the cork clean out of the bottle in one swift motion, filling the apartment with a loud 'pop', and tossed the cork and attached screw absently down onto the shelf in front of him, landing loudly with all of the other used dishes they had been generating. Nick brought the bottle up to hover underneath his snout, and took a long drag off of the aroma that twisted up from the long neck.

The fox instinctively pulled back from the bottle, throwing his arm out away from his long muzzle to distance the smell of the wine from him. It was an exaggeration, though not really by much. With a resigning shudder and a theatrical grimace, Nick retrieved his wooden spoon and returned to his gentle stirring of his unfinished risotto. Tipping the bottle over, he poured small dashes of the maroon liquid into the sizzling rice, stirring the alcohol in with the rest to be absorbed. He did not pour more than a few light dribblings into the burning pan, as he did not want the potent beverage to overpower the vegetables.

Another moment passed as he watched the process in front of him, intensely staring into the pan and observed what little remained of the broth and wine that he had just added vanish into the absorbent grain. Judy was still happily humming below him, chopping up pieces of basil to add to his plate when it was all done. Something about the fact that she was so willing to help him prepare a meal - even if it had meat in it - made his ears relax back onto his head as he breathed in the scents of their kitchen. The smell of the foods and various spices definitely smelled delicious, but above everything else, the scent of the bunny sharing his sweater was what made the whole process so enjoyable.

With a dopey smile lifting the fox's lips up on his muzzle, Nick went to set the wine back down to be saved for later, but he paused before it made contact with the wooden surface. Pulling it back to him, he turned it around to read the label again, and found himself wondering what it tasted like. Shrugging, he lifted the bottle up and brought it to his lips. When he tilted the bottom upwards to take a gulp of the liquid, the taste that filled his senses was surprisingly agreeable. Even when the fox pulled the bottle away to gaze at the red liquid as he licked his lips, the aftertaste wasn't even as bad as he thought it would be, though it still wasn't good.

"Nick, Gross!" Judy called up to him, drawing the fox's eyes down to look at the doe. She was staring at him with her nose pulled up in a grimace, eyeing him incredulously, which just caused the fox's already raised eyebrows to raise higher. Shaking her head, the rabbit gave him a stern glare as she narrowed her eyes in annoyance, abandoning her cutting board to reach up and snatch the green glass away. "Don't drink out of the bottle."

Chuckling, Nick raised his arm higher, taking the bottle out of her reach. "Chill out, Carrots," he replied dryly, making the doe puff out her cheeks and turn away from him, crossing her arms over their sweater. Judy's face was obstructed from Nick view by the oversized beanie that still covered her ears, but the way she hunched over slightly to pull herself away from him made the fox chuckle again. Turning his eyes back to the bottle, he brought it back up to his lips with a smug smile. "My backwash will improve the flavor," he deadpanned.

Halfway through a gulp, a pair of small, grey paws shot up to grab hold of either side of the bottle, pivoting it upwards and ripping the the mouth of the glass away from his open maw. "That's enough," she said sternly. Nick licked his lips to catch the small amount that had dribbled out as he watched her take the bottle down to her level. "I'd like a little wine to go with my fox spit, thank you very much." She set the bottle down on the cutting board in front of her and turned her head back up to meet the fox's gaze. "Get me a glass while I can still taste the alcohol in this."

Nick hummed a contented sound at her as he glanced up to the shelf above them, running his eyes over their meager collection of drinking glasses. The vast majority of them were coffee mugs, but there were a few other types. Unfortunately, none of those other types were clean, occupying space in their dirty dishes tub, and all that remained were his mugs and a single plastic cup with a fast food chain's logo printed on it. "Do you want the Bugaburger cup or a coffee mug?" he asked as he lifted his paw up, continuing his absent stirring of his risotto.

"Bugaburger," Judy replied, and took the offered cup when he he lowered it down to her level. Taking a moment to study the plastic cup, her nose scrunched up in apparent distaste, and she sighed as she reached out to retrieve the bottle. "We don't have something a little more classy?" she asked, pouring the wine into the cup until it was almost full. The rabbit took a greedy sip of the liquid as she handed the bottle back up to Nick, who took it from her by the neck and quickly took another swig, glancing back up to the shelf above him.

Judging by how many dishes were piled into the grey tub on the far end of the shelf, he had a pretty good idea of where all of their normal cups had gone. "They're all in the dirty dishes tub," he said plainly, returning his lidded eyes to his cooking food and sitting the bottle down out of the way.

Judy clicked her tongue below him, and took another sip. The way she was practically inhaling the maroon liquid was like she couldn't, or at least didn't care about, the cheap flavor. "Drat," she grumbled. When she sat the plastic cup down, she started chopping the bits of basil again, moving at an incredibly rapid pace until every piece of green was a tiny sliver of its former whole. "I thought I did those the other day."

"The other day?" Nick asked, glancing down from his activity to eye the rabbit with a look of skepticism. "Are you telling me that you haven't washed anything in who knows how many days and all of the pots and pans are clean?" The bunny scraped the fine slices into a small pile and dropped her knife on the board before tilting her chin up to meet the fox's gaze, giving him a sheepish smile. Nick narrowed his eyes. "How much takeout have you been eating?"

Immediately snapping her head back down, Judy took another sip of her wine and began ignoring his piercing eyes on her. "I don't think I am going to answer that," she said after a long pull of wine, sitting the cup down only to pick it back up and take another, quicker sip.

Nick scoffed, tearing his eyes from her to return to his task. He only had a ladleful of vegetable stock to go, and that meant that it was time to add the shrimp. With a careful movement, he lifted the smaller cutting board in front of him and held it over the sizzling pan of rice and vegetables. He pushed the small pile into the pan with his wooden spoon gently as to not tilt the board too much, and lose the pile of scraps he had neatly arranged on the far end. "It was your idea to start this cooking thing," he said, discarding the slimy board next to the pile of used pots and pans. "How many times have you made something yourself while I've been away?"

"Uh…" Judy made a show of not looking up at him, instead glancing around the apartment as if it could help her fabricate whatever lie she was cooking up. Nick let his eyes fall from his food, and stared down at her. Slowly, her chin rose up and she leaned back into him to give the fox a toothy smile. "I've made a lot of toast."

Nick blinked at her. "Toast…" he repeated, receiving an enthusiastic nod from the rabbit. Lifting his eyes back up to his cooking risotto, Nick sighed as brought one paw up to grab hold of the pot of remaining vegetable broth. "Mammals cannot live off of toast alone, Carrots," Nick said, using the wooden spoon to block the passage of shrimp shells and basil stalks as he poured the remainder of the broth into the searing pan. When he had gotten all that he expected to get, the fox loudly discarded the pot back on top of the hotplate, twisted the controls of the induction burner, and pushed the whole set up to the back of the shelf to be dealt with later.

All that remained in front of him was a single burner with the risotto in it, and he was now surrounded on all sides by dirty dishes. He paid them no mind, instead feeling slightly worried that Judy had not been eating well since he had left. Nick's brow furrowed in thought, and he stole a quick glance down at the rabbit beneath him. "You need to eat healthier than that," he finally said, breaking the relative silence as he stirred the shrimp and broth around. "I am going to have to see if there is any way I can graduate early just so you don't kill yourself with bad Chinese food and stale grocery store salads."

Judy looked back up from her shelf and gave Nick a weird glance. "It's... _hard_ to do this on my own, Nick," she replied, causing the fox to meet her gaze as she waved her paws out in front of her. "When you were here, it was actually really fun to cook - it _is_ really fun to cook." Nick's crimson beanie drooped on her head, and he could see her ears go limp underneath the material. She looked away, unable to keep her eyes on him. "Without you here…" Judy whispered, raising her plastic cup of wine up to hover just beyond her lips. "I am just burning my dinner on my own after a long day in uniform." She shook her head slowly. "It's just not the same."

Nick watched her take a long sip of wine before turning his gaze back to his food. He understood how she felt. Without her company and help, he sincerely doubted the idea that he would be cooking for himself, following the directions out of a book. Still, as bad as it could be sometimes, he had the cafeteria food afforded to him by the academy. She didn't have that, and it worried him. Nick made a split-second decision. "We'll just have to make up for it, then," he replied with a thoughtful gaze, tilting his muzzle down to see that Judy was looking up at him with a cocked eyebrow. "Tomorrow, you're in charge of the burners."

The crimson beanie atop the bunny's head bulged out as her ears tried desperately to raise to their full potential, only to be blocked by the constricting protection from the cold. Judy's head snapped around to look at the fox, who continued his front of boredom as he stirred his food. "What?" she bemoaned, obviously more than a little opposed to the idea. Nick, however, paid her no mind and did not even acknowledge her outburst, which just caused the doe to narrow her eyes dangerously at him. " _No_ , Nick," Judy said in a definite tone. "I'll just ruin it for both of-"

"I will not take no for an answer, Fluff," Nick interjected, cutting her off. Slowly, his snout sunk downward, and he tilted his head to the side to observe the rabbit that was sharing his sweater with one, lidded eye. "I've got three nights to teach you as much as I can, and then I have to go back. If I leave you here to just learn it on your own, you're just going to be gorging yourself on junk food." Ignoring her puffing out cheeks and the dissenting declaration brewing behind her amethyst eyes, the fox simply returned to the job at hand. "Classes start tomorrow morning. You can make the hash browns and my eggs... Start you off easy."

Judy scoffed at him, and Nick could barely catch her movement in his peripheral vision she was so close to him, turning her head back around to the shelf below his. "You _want_ me to make your eggs?" she asked, reaching out for her plastic cup of wine and bringing it up to her lips, pausing just before she took a sip to speak. "You _do_ realize that means you're not going to be having eggs tomorrow, right?"

"It's not as hard as it looks," Nick replied, chuckling at her lack of confidence. He glanced down at her and flashed a reassuring smile, receiving nothing but a skeptical glare as she took another sip of her wine. "Trust me." Turning back to his food, he saw that the shrimp was quickly changing hue inside the pan, shedding its raw aesthetic for something that finally looked edible. "Besides, I'll be there to teach you," he said, twisting the knob on the front of the burner to turn it off. As he was stirring the food around the still scalding pan, he lifted his paw up to retrieve a plate from the shelf above him. "In fact, we'll start right after we're done eating... When we get the eggnog going."

Sitting her cup back down, she leaned away from him and craned her head to look up at the underside of his muzzle. "I only bought a dozen while I was at the store," she said plainly, glancing over to their fridge. Nick shot her a quick glance as he poured the contents of the pan out on his plate, catching her questioning gaze. "Are you _sure_ we've got enough for that plus your breakfast for the next couple days?"

Nick hummed absently, scraping the last pieces of rice and onions that had clung to the dark metal. "I can have toast," he replied in a droning tone, receiving a quiet snort from the rabbit before she leaned back into him, vanishing underneath his chin. They had decided during their time preparing the food that they should make something else, and Judy had suggested eggnog since it looked easy enough and they still had a little bit of bourbon that Nick had left behind before leaving. He didn't even particularly like eggnog, but if it meant he could spend even more time cooking with Judy, he was more than willing to give it a shot.

As the fox finished scraping off the pan, he discarded it with all the others, completing their massive collection of dirty dishes. Nick eyed the piles for a moment, disgruntled by the prospect of having to clean it all in the morning. They certainly weren't going to clean it tonight. A loud ding broke his train of thought, though, and he glanced down at the toaster oven that displayed the fact that the timer had finished. "There's the roasted vegetables," he said plainly. After a quick survey around the shelves in front of them, Nick finally pointed at Judy's cutting board. "Let's clear some space on the cutting board, yeah?"

They worked together to push things around her space, Nick hunching over to be at the shelf's height. The doe handed certain things up to him to place of his station, grabbing the small dish of lemon sauce and reaching up to sit it next to his plate as she brushed the chopped basil over the side, and into his waiting palm. When they had made enough space, Nick straightened up to collect two pairs of oven mitts that hung on a hook off to the side. One of them was Nick's size, padded to accommodate claws and made to look a set of grey paws, whereas the other pair was very small, and maroon in color.

Nick dropped the smaller set down as he put on one of his own, watching Judy catch them easily and quickly work them onto her small paws. They stepped together in an odd dance, moving strangely effortlessly without so much as a stumble, and positioned themselves in front of the toaster oven. The fox leaned down over the doe, pressing himself into her as he prepared to retrieve the scolding pan. "Alright, Carrots," he said, moving his paws out in front of them. "Open her up."

Unceremoniously, Judy tore open the oven, wafting out a wave of blistering heat that pushed its way through the fur of Nick's face, making him squint his eyes at the shock from the sudden change of temperature. The second wave came in the forms of the sounds and smells, the roasting vegetables sizzling on the oily tinfoil and hissed at them as the fox reached out to grab both sides of the baking sheet. The scents were much more pleasant, coming in a strong burst of fragrance, mixing perfectly the spices and natural scents of the vegetables as they wafted out into the cold air of the apartment.

"Wow..." Judy murmured, leaning forward to stick her nose over the sheet, closing her eyes as her nose twitched and a soft smile crept over her face, revealing her buck teeth slightly. "That smells _so_ good." She was not wrong, and he took long drags of the warm air, enjoying the scents. They both grabbed onto the pan carefully, Nick taking either side and Judy grabbing hold of the edge closest to them. As a tangle of arms, limbs, and a single bushy tail, they moved with each other like a single animal to drop the pan down onto the cleared cutting board, the fox lifting up his leg to close the toaster oven behind them.

The absence of the scolding air made the return of the chilling atmosphere of the apartment even worse, and Nick's muzzle twisted into a sneer at the reminder that the heat would be out for at least two days. Their landlord was not even in town, having left to spend time with her mother, and the aging anteater that she had entrusted the building to did not even realize that the heat had gone out, as she was too busy sleeping with a heat pad in her lap. It was even worse that virtually everyone else in the building was either gone or had other means of heating up their apartments.

At first, Nick briefly thought about evicting her from the sweater entirely to send her off to look for a movie, keeping the warmth for himself, but with how the cold air felt against the back of his neck, that would be a cruel thing to do, indeed. As he pulled his oven mitts off his paws, he glanced down at the contented expression that pulled on Judy's features. There was no working around it. He was going to willingly subject himself to the cold because he couldn't force her to do it. Lifting his paws over his shoulders, he grabbed onto the back of the sweater. "Stand still," he ordered her, pulling the material over his head. "I'm going to try to get out of this thing."

Judy looked up just as his snout disappeared into the collar, and she felt the sweater ride up her body as he struggled to escape from the piece of clothing. "I can just slip-"

"Keep it warm for me," he said, cutting her off as his head popped out of the bottom, his arms still stuck in the sleeves. Carefully, he made sure not to take the sweater off of her any more than he had to, and pulled his arms through so that he could drape the sleeves over her shoulders. Taking a painful step back, both from the bone-chilling cold of the apartment slithering through his loose shirt and vest and by Judy's absence, he let the sweater fall over her back. Tieing his sleeves around her shoulders, he spoke again. "And go find something for us to watch while we eat. I'll fix the plates."

Snatching up her plastic cup of wine as Nick guided her with his paw on her back around the kitchen and towards the bed, Judy glance up around her with a concerned expression, running her eyes over his simple shirt and vest. "Alright…" she replied after a moment, turning away from him to close the small distance between her and the bed. The fox watched her go for a moment, marveling at how large the sweater looked on her, and how it more closely resembled a Christmas cape than a sweater, given how it was tied around her. Finally tearing his eyes away, Nick got another plate down for the roasted vegetables.

"Do you want to use it while we're eating?" she called back to him, and Nick tilted his head to show that he was listening, though he kept his eyes on the task of transferring the hot food. He had to bend over to pick the sizzling vegetables onto the plate in his right paw, and the longer he was away from the warmth of the sweater, the colder it got. "I can just set up one tray and we can share plates," Judy offered, and Nick was quick to jump on the chance to climb back inside the novelty clothing.

The fox nodded his head, quickening his pace as he piled the food up. "Sounds good to me," he replied, extending his claws so he could scoop up more than one at a time. Glancing back over his shoulder, he saw her pulling a wooden TV tray from the side of the bed, and started lugging it around with some effort to be set up on the edge of the mattress. "It's still freezing out here, so make it quick, rabbit." Judy flashed him a smile and pulled open the legs, unfolding it. They had gotten the trays soon after he had moved in, and the quasi-tables had proven themselves to be an efficient use of space on more than one occasion.

Feeling a distinct need to return to the sweater, Nick pulled his attention away from Judy and finished transferring the roasted vegetables. When they had settled onto the plate, he pushed the dish up on his arm, allowing to rest on his elbow to free up his paw, which he filled with his own plate of shrimp risotto. Being quick yet fairly careful, the fox retrieved the small dish of lemon sauce from Judy's shelf and poured it over his risotto, discarding it with the rest of the dishes when he was done. In the corner of his vision, he saw the rabbit return to her desk, pushing a pile of papers away to reveal a laptop hidden beneath. Nick turned slightly to watch her return to the bed with the computer, tossing it up to bounce on the mattress before hopping up herself.

Side-stepping away from their kitchen, Nick pulled open the fridge with the top of his hind paw, and reached inside to retrieve the doe's salad. With a quick flourish, he tore off the plastic wrapping with his teeth, shot the fridge with his leg, and spun around to face the rabbit. Judy was staring at him from behind the tray on the bed, cocking an eyebrow at the reckless nature of his handling of their food as the laptop whirred to life beside her. Taking the one step needed to close the distance between the fridge and the bed, Nick effortlessly slid the three plates from his arms and neatly arranged them on the tray.

Nick made a move to jump up on the bed, but stopped himself with a groan, whipping around to return to the kitchen. He snatched two forks from the top shelf with one paw and the bottle of wine with the other. The cold was getting unbearable now, and the idea that there was such a comforting source of warmth so close just made it worse. His tail snapped behind him at his rapid movements, and he made the one step back to the tray only to slam down the forks and bottle, startling Judy as she was typing away at the computer beside her. She swung her head around, losing the surprised expression to one of annoyance.

Eying him for a moment as he desperately scrambled up onto the bed, Judy sucked in a shrill breath through her enormous front teeth and turned back around to continue typing on the computer. Nick, for the most part, did not even register her irritation. Living together, he had found out that she did not like a lot of things, and loud, sudden noises was one of them. As he pulled himself up the sheets and crawled on all fours behind her, he made an absent note to stop doing it for the hundredth time. It was just another habit of his that he had to work on, as far as he was concerned.

When he had positioned himself appropriately, he swung his legs around and landed with a small bounce on either side of Judy's hips, his legs spread out in front of them the same as hers, both hanging over the edge below a wooden TV tray that was now covered in food. If it was strange of him to be so reckless in their closeness, he did not notice it, and without even asking he started unraveling the two larger sleeves that he had tied around her neck. To her credit, Judy was ignoring his rough treatment, and did not even bat an eye when he ripped the sweater up her back, exposing her to the cold air of the apartment.

Less so to her credit, she nearly jumped out of her fur when Nick tried to scramble inside the sweater, pressing his ice-cold nose into the nape of her neck. "Ah!" she shrieked, tensing as she felt the fur of his chin and neck follow his nose, gliding up the pieces of her neck not protected by the inside of the sweater. Finally, she felt him press fully into her back, his head popping out of the second collar above her. He glanced down at the indignant sneer she was projecting up at him, replying only with a dopey smile as he relaxed into the warmth. "You're cold." she remarked plainly, no small amount of annoyance in her voice.

Nick chuckled dryly as he adjusted the piece of clothing around them, finally getting around to snaking his paws through the sleeves that had been tied around her neck. "It's cold," he replied with an equal amount of mock nonchalance. "What did you expect?" The doe in his lap scoffed softly at him, turning her head back to the computer that rested to their left. Pulling on pieces of the sweater to better fit it to his form, Nick craned his head to look at the screen, seeing Judy scroll through a rather large collection of movies that he had gotten for her before he left for the academy.

A lot of things happened in the short amount of time they lived together, and one of the highlights had always been the evenings. After Judy had gotten off work and Nick didn't have anything to do but sit around, they had occupied their time with random activities; a game of checkers here, card games there, it didn't matter. More than anything, it didn't really matter so much _what_ they were doing, just so long as they were doing it _together_. Eventually, when the fox had taken a short walk to the store to stock up on cheap alcohol, he had come across a pile of junk sat out by the sidewalk to be taken with the trash.

When Judy had accused him of getting their projector out of a garbage can, he had technically not lied. It was sitting _next_ to the garbage can, and it was easily fixed. Watching movies together was a logical step forward as far as he was concerned, and the projector made it so they didn't have to crowd around her tiny laptop screen. Mounting it on the section of bricks that climbed up the wall was easy enough, again with a pair of clamps he 'liberated' from a fate of taking up space in a landfill. All they needed after that was a white screen so the movies didn't come out looking as if they were watching it through an ugly sheet thanks to the wallpaper, and Judy's collection of Gazelle posters, once turned to the side that wasn't insulting, worked quite well.

Nick plucked a fork from the tray carefully and spun it around his paw, getting himself used to using a utensil that was Judy's size rather than the ones from the academy that were often too large. With his other paw, he reached out behind them to the sickly green wall and swiped a small electronic remote that hung on the edge of a picture frame. Dexterously swinging the tiny remote control around, and without looking, he absently pointed it above them towards the projector and clicked the switch, causing the electronic device to whir to life. The fox tossed the remote up the bed to bounce off the pillow and settled in, a comfortable smile creeping up his features.

"Alright," he said casually, stabbing one of the roasted potatoes and bringing it up to his muzzle. "What are we watching here?" After stuffing the crunchy slice into his maw, he had to suppress a moan from how good it was. Nick even shook his head slowly in disbelief as he turned around back to the wall, dropping his fork on the plate and reaching out to grab hold of one of the cords hanging from the projector. It just wasn't fair how good the food actually was. _Twenty years_ he had spent eating garbage and its equivalent, and it took a rabbit so bad at cooking she burned water to remind him how good home-cooked meals were.

Judy took the offered cord and plugged it into the side of the laptop just as the projector flickered on, beaming a giant deep blue rectangle out over their wall. The fox was surprised to find how bright the projection was, and a quick glance out the window confirmed how late it had gotten. Their small apartment was now filled with the crisp light bouncing off the wall, and after a moment the blue was replaced by black. "Raiders," Judy replied, pushing the laptop away a few inches and closing the top. She sat back up straight between his legs and retrieved her own fork, greedily taking her first mouthful of her salad.

Cocking an eyebrow as he picked up his own fork, they started digging in together. It was initially awkward, what with them eating from the same plates in the same orientation, sometimes stumbling over each other when they both went for a roasted vegetable. "Of the Lost Ark?" he asked, taking the first bite of his risotto. The lemon sauce Judy had made tasted fantastic on the the shrimp and rice, and the fox fought to suppress another moan. After a moment of savoring the flavor with the muscles of his neck feeling inadequate in holding up his head, he narrowed his vision at the Pacamount Pictures logo fading onto screen. "How Christmassy."

"You got to pick the last one," Judy retorted, biting the tip off of the carrot she had skewered on her fork before proceeding to nibble the rest all the way down. The way she used her large, buck teeth to slide fine bits off in rapid succession was reminiscent of a cartoon Nick could vaguely remember, and he found it incredibly fascinating. "So it is my turn to choose the movie." When he realized he had been staring while chewing on the same piece of shrimp for almost a full minute, he tore his eyes back down to their food. "Christmas movies suck, and I am not going to be subjected to some crappy film just because the calendar demands it."

A breath of mirth escaped the fox's grinning maw as he leaned his body over the doe to keep from spilling a forkful of his risotto, pressing himself thoroughly into her. At some point she had scooted close to him, almost completely in his laps now with her fluffy tail brushing the hem of his shirt every time either of them moved. Again, he felt somewhere within his subconscious that he should feel strange about the current situation, but again no such feeling came to him. It was common for them to be close, and he just attributed it to the natural disposition of her species. The fox saw nothing wrong with it, and he certainly would not give up the comfort without a good reason, which he could think of none.

It was in that moment that Nick felt that feeling again, bubbling up in his stomach. He had been halfway between shoveling another pile of rice and a piece of shrimp into his hanging jaw, and the return had made him pause. Whatever it was, he began to think to himself as he clasped his lips around the base of the fork, it could wait until he had some time alone. Nick was stabbing another carrot from the plate in front of him when he noticed Judy staring absently at their kitchen, a piece of arugula sticking out of her lips as she chewed in an adorable fashion.

Following her gaze, Nick toom looked at their shelf. To say it was a disaster could not be interpreted as an understatement, as the piled up dishes were only accentuated by the already cluttered nature of their apartment, giving the whole place the feeling of something having torn through the space. "That's a lot of dishes we have to wash," she said below him after swallowing, chewing on her lips with a thoughtful expression.

A quick snort escaped his snout as he turned his attention back to their food. Cooking had been immensely fun for him, but cleaning up afterwards often did not take the same mantle. It was usually a game to see who had the unfortunate task of lugging the dirty dishes tub down the hall to the communal bathroom, and while he had cheated a number of times, somehow he had always found himself roped into at least doing some of every load. It was those damnable eyes, he believed. She would put on a show of struggling with the tub out the door, and he'd regret trailing off after her every time.

"We'll do that thing we did last time and set up in the shower…" Nick replied absently, biting a parsnip off the end of his fork. He was in the middle of chewing when realization struck him. "Actually, we don't have any warm water, do we?" Looking down, he saw Judy leered up at him with a expectant gaze. The fox snorted again, this time looking up at the movie that was playing. Indiana Jones and company were still walking through the jungle, and the credits continued to fade in and out on the lower third. "I suppose we could do it the old fashioned way and boil some on a hotplate."

Judy groaned and thumped back into his chest, watching the actions on their makeshift screen with distant eyes as she chewed on another mouthful of her salad. "That'll take _ages_ , though," she finally replied.

"Time will fly while we're having fun," Nick commented sarcastically, taking another bite of his risotto. It was possible they could just have takeout until they heat was back on, but then it would be rather difficult to run Judy through a rigorous training program about how to use her own kitchen. He would prefer to leave her with at least a modicum of confidence that she could feed herself outside of nuked dinners every day of the week. So, he made it his mission to at least clean what he'd need for that. After another bite, his emerald eyes fell onto the bottle of wine that sat idly on the wooden tray. " _And_ , time goes a lot quicker when you're drunk."

"You sure abandoned your resolve to not drink while using our kitchen pretty quickly," Judy said, watching him retrieve the bottle. Looking up, she barely had enough time to register what he meant to do with that bottle, and Nick made a show of sloppily dropping his tongue out of his both as he tilted it up to take a swig. "Hey!" she shouted, lifting her paws up to snatch it out of his, though she was far too late to keep him from licking the opening. "I told you to stop drinking out of the bottle! Leave some for me."

Nick allowed her to rip the green glass out of his grip, and licked his lips of the small amount that had dribbled out, looking down with a lazy, lidded grin. He had meant to say something witty, but his words died in his throat when he witness her tip the bottle upwards herself, taking a long gulp from the bottle. "Someone's a hypocrite," Nick dryly said, watching her with a cocked eyebrow as she continued to gulp down more wine.

When the doe was done, she pulled the bottle from her lips and let out an exaggerated exhale, her tiny, pink tongue darting out to clean the fur beneath her nose of the purple liquid. "You have already sullied the bottle," she replied, turning to gaze up into his eyes. "And I'll be damned if I am the only one being subjected to foreign bodily fluids tonight." Her look of confidence fell away when Nick barked out a laugh, and if her face slowly burned the same shade as the beanie on her head. Judy's head whipped around to hide her bashful expression, and she crossed her arms over her chest after setting the bottle down. "That is _not_ what I meant, you pervert!"

The fox continued to chuckle while he took the bottle for himself, lifting it up to hover just before his lips. "Cheap alcohol and old movies," he said happily, a genuine grin splitting his face to reveal the sharp teeth underneath. He watched Indiana Jones use a whip to snap a revolver out of a tapir's grasp, who turned and ran back into the jungle. "You know the way right to my heart, Fluff." Nick took another swig, this time tasting more than just wine.

"Slow down, Nick," Judy called up to him, placing her paw on the bottle and tipping it back down, though she did not take it from his grasp. The fox relented to her request and replaced the bottle back onto the tray, retrieving his fork to continue eating. With another forkful of roasted potatoes happily in his maw, he watched Judy carefully lift the bottle and test the weight. "Half the bottle is already gone."

Snorting at her, Nick turned his eyes to the screen. In truth, he never really watched the movie they put on. He always found his company far more interesting, and while he vaguely could tell you what had happened in most of their escapades into becoming veteran film consumers, he could certainly tell you every detail of the doe. "I can hold my liquor," he replied. The film had moved onto its first delve into an ancient temple, and he ignored the loud stringed instruments emphasizing the discovery of another archaeologist's body, turning his attention to their kitchen. "Plus, we're making the eggnog after this."

Judy scoffed at him with a mouthful of arugula, a bit of the leaf flew out into his risotto, causing the fox stare incredulously at the bit of half-chewed greens in his food. Judy, on the other paw, did not even register it happening. "Yeah, _egg_ nog," she replied with a harsh tone. "I won't be drinking any." Nick hummed in recognition, returning his eyes to the bottle. "And I'm not worried about running out, I want you to be able to see straight when you open up your presents."

"Oh," Nick said flatly, remembering that Judy had only really suggested the eggnog for him to drink, since she did not eat anything that didn't grow roots. It was easy for him to forget sometimes. "Right... Sorry." With the paw not holding onto his fork, he ran his claws through the cream colored fur of his neck, the tip of his forearm bumping into the top of her head as he did so. Nick gestured towards the wine with his fork before stabbing another carrot. "The rest of the bottle is yours, then."

Turning to look at him, she narrowed her eyes as she threw her own paw out towards the green glass. "I can't finish this," she replied plainly.

"Would you make up your mind?" Nick asked, his brow tenting up on his forehead as he flashed her a crooked smile. Judy replied by blowing out a puff of air and turning around back to her food, sticking her own fork into her bowl of greens and beetroot. Nick watched studied her for a long moment, observing her take greedy bites of her food and look on flatly at the movie he was paying no attention to.

"How's the salad?" he finally asked, watching with lidded eyes as she stuck another helping of the green leaves into her mouth. The fox often found himself mesmerized at the bits of food that hung out of her lips as she chewed. The way they swung through the air as her jaw worked the other ends into mush was strangely captivating, and he had to tear his vision away when she looked up at him. "Did I blanch the arugula okay?"

The bits of leaves that hung out of her mouth quickly shrunk into her cheeks and she barely chewed them enough to swallow before beaming a smile up at him. "It tastes amazing!" she said, her buck teeth pulling his eyes down to her lips, which caused Judy to look away and scrape her teeth with her dull claw like she had something stuck between them. Nick silently reprimanded himself for looking at her teeth again, and worse yet being so obvious about it.

"I can't believe how good the roasted carrots taste, too!" she continued, plucking another carrot up without using her fork and sticking it into her smiling mouth. When she looked up again, he barely caught her running her tongue over her enormous front teeth before giving him a lidded, suggestive look. "You can't go back to the academy," Judy said softly, fluttering her eyelashes. "Be my stay-at-home chef and never leave me again."

Nick was powerless to the smile that crept up his own muzzle, shaking his head slowly as he glance back up to the movie. "What, and give up on all the _exciting_ training and _personal_ guidance from the Major?" he asked, mocking apprehension before chuckling. "You are going to have to do a lot more than flutter your eyelashes at me." Judy blew a bit of air up into the fur of his chin and turned back around, stuffing an already prepared forkful of her salad into her mouth.

Chewing on a piece of shrimp far longer than he really needed to, he watched with interest as she continued to pack away her salad. If he was aware of how much he had been staring that night, he might have been a little more careful with his gaze. His mind was occupied with other thoughts, though, and he only found himself staring more as he thought. "With the way you're putting it down, I wouldn't doubt that it tastes alright," he commented, observing her fervent chewing as she looked up at him and smiled. "Why don't you give me one of those beetroots?"

It took a moment for her to finish chewing, and when she did she cast a questioning glance up at the fox. "Huh?" Judy asked, cocking an eyebrow at him before letting her eyes fall back down onto her plate. She pointed at the dwindling collection of vegetables with her fork and twirled it around to in an absent gesture. "Just stab one and take it."

"Can't," Nick replied, waving his own fork out in front of them, capturing the rabbit's eyes. "I've had this fork in the shrimp, and I doubt you want the taste of seafood in your greens." The fox leaned over her shoulder and made a show of opening up his jaw widely in fron of her, putting his rows of sharp teeth on display right next to her face, which Judy just flatly regarded with a blank stare before looking up into the one eye she could see with a cocked brow. "Come on," he said pointing his fork into his gaping maw. "Stick it in there."

Judy's expression fell, and her eyes dropped down to an annoyed, scowl. She puffed out her cheeks and turned away from him, ignoring his plea for her to feed him. "We already shared a bottle," Nick commented, keeping his maw open next to her as if to coerce her into doing it if only to get him to move his jaw away. It was unfortunate that she had largely become desensitized to his teeth, and no amount of waving them around seemed to affect her anymore. "What's the difference with a fork?"

"You won't get me that easily, Slick," she replied resolutely. "You had a lot more of that shrimp between your _teeth_ , and I won't have you dragging your seafood-flavored tongue across my fork." Nick just smiled at that, not feeling even slightly disappointed that he had been found out. Instead, he clasped his jaw shut and whimpered softly in her ear, bobbing his snout down into her vision. Judy paused the bite of beetroot just before her open mouth and sighed, pulling the fork away to wave in front of the fox's muzzle. "Bite it _carefully_ ," she ordered, eyeing him suspiciously. "And don't touch the metal."

"You got it, boss," Nick replied. To his credit, he followed the orders she had given him closely, and only stuck his tongue out to guide the edge of the beetroot slice into his mouth. He was chewing the root contentedly as Judy returned to her meal, paying him no more mind now that he had gotten his way. Carefully, and still chewing on the root with a lidded grin, Nick stabbed one of the shrimp tails that stuck out of the pile of rice and held it up into the air in front of the doe, who had abruptly froze when her eyes locked onto the pink meat. "Your turn," Nick casually stated. "Don't touch the fork, though. I don't want any of that arugula mess on it."

Slowly, she chewed the rest of the salad that was in her mouth and swallowed, the whole time keeping her eyes fixed to the skewered lump. "I am not going to eat a shrimp," she replied simply, not a hint of any emotion in her voice.

Nick just waved the adorned fork suggestively around. "Just a bite," Nick sung back, the teasing smile that was occupying his features growing.

She shook her head. "No."

"Just a little nibble," Nick reasoned, bouncing the fork around in his grasp. "Just to see if you hate it."

Turning her head around, Judy regarded him with a look somewhere between contempt and something else that he could not place. "You can bite me," she deadpanned, her eyes steely and her expression unwavering. "I won't do it."

The teasing grin quickly morphed into one of amusement as his eyebrows shot up his forehead. "Oh?" he replied, leaning closer to her, making the bunny's brow furrow as she tried to lean away. Nick gave her a toothy smile, and the doe's eyes darted between his piercing eyes and the rows of sharp teeth inches from her face, her nose twitching rapidly. "Just a little nibble?" the fox asked, opening up his jaw slightly and leaning even closer. When he spoke again, it was barely above a whisper, and his husky tone rumbled out of the base of his throat. "To see if I like it?"

Judy continued to lean away from him, but she eventually found herself trapped between his body and the packed wooden tray. "If you actually do that," she stated calmly, staring into his eyes. "I will honestly make you sleep _outside_."

He could not stop himself from almost closing the distance completely, parting his jaw even more. "Freezing to death will be worth it," he reasoned, but before he could get close enough to even consider following through with his threat, a fork forced its way into his gaping maw, and Nick reeled backwards as the sensation of gross green leaves filled his tastebuds. "Ugh," Nick groaned, letting his tongue drop out of his mouth. "This stuff is so much worse than I remember." Judy just scoffed at him from below his chin, having been forced backward with him since they were bound together by the sweater.

Nick tried desperately to keep the grimace at bay as he chewed the arugula. Most vegetables were fine, but how Judy managed to eat the disgusting greens was beyond him. The todd shook his head slowly as he looked up at the movie, finding that it had already progressed back to the university. He only tried to follow the scene for a moment before out of the corner of his eye, he saw a grey paw slowly hover over to his risotto. In stunned silence, he even ceased his chewing of the horrible plant, not caring in the slightest that the taste lingered in his mouth, and watched as Judy pushed some rice out of the way to pick out one of the shrimp.

The fox's neck jerked downward as he looked at the doe between his legs, staring at the blank expression in which she used to stare at the piece of meat she was holding. Nick's eyes were now frantically darting between the rabbit and the shrimp, unable to form a coherent thought for a long moment. _Surely_ she was just teasing... she couldn't _actually_ be considering eating it, could she? "Just _one_ bite," she reasoned as if to herself, barely above a whisper.

Nick swallowed loudly, ignoring the nearly whole piece of arugula that slid down his throat. "You don't actually have to," he said, furrowing his brow and reaching out to take the shrimp from her. Before he could, Judy pulled the shrimp away, and Nick looked down with a worried expression. She had _that_ expression on, the one that said 'don't tell me what I can or can't do', and it nearly made the fox's eyes bug out of his skull. He brought his paws out in front of them in surrender, and tried pleading instead. "I was just teasing, and if you're not comfortable with it, really, don't do it."

It did not have the desired effect, and Judy just looked up at him with a questioning glance. "How bad could it be?" she asked, making the fox's expression go slack. For a brief moment, he contemplated wrestling it out of her paw, but with how they were both bound together by the sweater and the fact that the wooden tray of food sat right in front of them, that would probably not have a pleasant outcome. He tried to remember all he could about rabbits and eating meat, but that was unfortunately not much. Nick sincerely did not want her to get sick over it, but what was he to do? Maybe just one wouldn't hurt?

Before he could so much as begin to think of a rationale that would sway her from having to live with the fact that she tried meat, she threw it back into her mouth, causing Nick to suck in a shrill breath and freeze. Judy chewed it for a moment with a ponderous face, but after a second her jaw paused halfway through her chewing and her eyes widened. "Oh," she said flatly, and he watcher her for a moment before her face scrunched up into a grimace. " _That_ bad." Nick swore under his breath and reached out for her empty cup, expecting her to spit it out. What he didn't see coming, and what made him temporarily lose his ability to think, was Judy actually _swallowing_ the crustacean. "Oh, that's _horrible_ ," she finished, grimacing.

For a long moment, the fox wondered if he was dreaming. Did he actually just witness a tiny little bunny put down a shrimp? In all his years, he had seen his fair share of strange things, including more than one carnivorous prey, but never a rabbit. Prey animals eating bugs? Sure. A deer eating a chicken sandwich? On one occasion. A bunny eating anything more adventurous than perhaps the tamest item off a Bugaburger menu? Not so much. In truth, he really didn't know many rabbits, so it was possible that it wasn't as strange as it sounded. By the way Judy had - up until this point, that is - been so adverse to eating so much as a grasshopper, he sincerely doubted it.

The way she started scraping her tongue with her sleeve finally spurred the fox into motion, and his vision snapped up to the wine bottle on the far end of their tray. "Quick," he said, snatching up the bottle and offering it to the rabbit. "Wash down the flavor." As she took the offering and greedily tipped it over, his mind raced to find some kind of response. Despite his own reaction, he tried to come up with some kind of lighthearted jab that didn't make her feel weird about her actions. "Not bad for a first time carnivore," he lamely remarked, hoping that his joke had the desired effect of levity he was hoping for.

Judy pulled the bottle from her lips and gasped for air, whipping her head around to glare at the fox behind her. "If that _ever_ leaves this room," she seethed, using a tone that he had heard only when he had pissed her off beyond what he really should have. Nick's ears plastered themselves against the back of his head, and he furrowed his brow at the bunny threatening him. What had _he_ done? He _told_ her not to do it. She took one of her paws off the bottle and jabbed the fox in the shoulder roughly, narrowing her eyes. "I will turn you into a _coat_."

Despite himself, the fox's muzzle split up into a broad smile, and he searched her eyes with distinct amusement playing behind his own. The doe's scowl shifted at his reaction, falling to apprehension. "Does this mean you'll try the eggnog?" he quipped back, causing her to scoff at him, though the ghost of a smile twitched on the corners of her lips. "Eggs taste _way_ better than shrimp." Judy turned around to look away from him, trying to hid herself by pressing into his chest and looking down. "It's mostly soy milk and bourbon, anyway."

Nick craned his head, and tilted his muzzle so he could look at her through the corner of his eye. Her face was beet-red and she was chewing on her lip in embarrassment, looking down at her lap. When she looked up she saw that he was staring at her with a cautious expression, and she immediately tried to downplay the situation. "I've already crossed the line," she said theatrically, throwing the back of her paw over her eyes in mock shame, though he could not tell if it was just a way to hide genuine shame. "There's no turning back now... From now on, I will have to live with the fact that I ate something that used to be alive on a whim, and the guilt will haunt me _forever_."

It took a moment for Nick to straighten back out, but he accepted her attempt to shift the conversation as to not dwell seriously on what had just happened. "Chill out, dork," he calmly retorted, feeling his brow furrow on his forehead, though more out of thought than anything else. "You're going to make me feel bad for being born a predator." In truth, Nick had not been disturbed by the act itself, it had been the fact that he had been the cause for it to happen. The idea that he might be rubbing off on her did not instill him with the greatest confidence, and he believed that it _should_ be the other way around.

Whatever the case, he didn't allow himself to dwell on it. Perhaps it was a little naive of him to think that all the time spent together would just end up with Nick picking up her good traits, and not Judy picking up his bad ones, of which he had many. He would have to be more careful in the future. It could already be argued that he was a bad influence, and he did not want to give that thought any merit beyond what he couldn't control. The _last_ thing Judy should be doing was picking up things from him that could legitimately hurt her. How much Timothy-grass had he seen her eating recently? Nick made a note to pay attention to that.

The fox had been so engrossed in his own thoughts that he did not even recognize the fact that Judy was reaching again for his risotto until it was too late, only barely catching her toss the shrimp tail into her open mouth. It was as if the world had stopped moving for Nick, and he stared completely stupefied at the rabbit between his legs chewing away at the chunk of meat with consideration written across her features. This time, she did not grimace, and the sound of her swallowing caused the usually calm fox to twitch. He blinked slowly as she looked up at him squarely.

If he had not believed what he was seeing until that point, the very obvious scent of shrimp on her breath when she smiled up at him cemented it into reality. "It's not as bad the second time," she said up to him, and the fox forced an easy smile to spread across his muzzle, watching her turn back around to the movie. As soon as she was not looking, he began chewing on the inside of his cheek, looking down at her nose as she watched the movie beneath him.

Was it possible he was being ridiculous? No, he had a pretty reasonable reaction, as theoretically it could make her sick. Truth be told, he really didn't know, but he aimed to find out as quick as possible, and until such a time, no more for her. Even if he had to scarf it all down. "What have I done?" he joked merrily, perfectly masking his internal conflict. It wasn't exactly like they ate like health fanatics, anyway, and he was sure the booze did them no favors. Still, he quelled his worry by reasoning if a deer can eat a chicken sandwich, Judy would probably survive eating a couple shrimp… So long as she didn't-

Nick's thoughts were immediately interrupted when he saw her reaching for his risotto again. This time, he had the good sense to act, and his paw shot out to lightly grab hold of her wrist. Judy glanced up at him inquisitively, cocking an eyebrow. "Okay," the fox said, chuckling despite himself at the absurdity of what he was witnessing. "But seriously… No more."

The doe's brow furrowed at the finality of his words, and her head snapped around to look at his risotto, giving it a suspicious look. When she turned back to the fox, she looked as if she was ready to try to convince him to let her eat the rest. "But I'm just-"

"No," Nick replied, cutting her off with a flat tone. Judy's eyes narrowed at him, but she relented, raising up her free paw in surrender. It took Nick several seconds to convince himself that she wasn't trying to trick him, and he finally released her paw. "Eat your beetroot, Carrots," he ordered her, stabbing one of his shrimps and stuffing it into his mouth, eyeing her intently. He studied her reaction, which was comical to say the least. Never in his life did he expect to see a rabbit pout about the fact that she wasn't getting any more shrimp. If he was not genuinely worried that it was bad for her, he would have found it quite funny.

They settled back into eating their own meals after that, the roasted vegetables all but vanished from their plate. The movie had moved onto the bar in Nepal, and they silently ate alongside each other, Judy probably paying more attention to the movie than Nick, who had found himself drifting off thinking about other things. Namely, how exactly he was supposed to make sure she was eating healthy while he was away at the academy. Maybe he could get Bucky and Pronk to spy on her, though that didn't exactly sound right. If he could get in contact with one of her cop friends, perhaps he could bribe them to take her out to good prey restaurants.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the fork that was meant for her salad bowl veer off course stealthily, stretching out towards his plate. "I'm watching you," Nick said flatly, causing the rabbit to peer up at him through the corner of her eye. "Get that fork away from my shrimp, or so help me I will drag my tongue across everything in front of me." Judy just blinked as he tilted his muzzle down to look straight at her with a stony expression. " _Everything_." The fox barely had enough time to register the movement, and before he could so much as move a muscle, another crustacean had vanished. Nick blinked, observing her smug, challenging gaze as she chewed away happily. "Why you little - Mmpf!"

Judy's paws had been too quick, and before he so much as scowled at her disobedience, she had a firm grasp on both sides of his muzzle, clamping his jaw shut. For a moment, Nick just looked surprised, but as she continued to look at him with her very own smarmy grin his own expression fell into irritation. He did not retaliate, though, but as the moment dragged on, his lips started curling upwards in a mischievous grin. Much to her credit, the doe recognized the expression sliding over his features and immediately grew defensive, pulling her elbows closer to her chest as her smile fell.

In a quick flash of movement, the fox's paws were all over her body, pressing the pads of his fingers deep into her sides above her hips, her stomach, her neck, and any other spot he knew would have the desired reaction. "Ah!" she shrieked, attempting to pull away only to be brought back in by the sweater. "Nick!" She was laughing hysterically now, the relentless tickling causing her to spasm between his legs. "Quit it, please! I'm sorry!" When Judy started snorting because she had gotten so caught up in the assault, Nick felt himself slacken his attack because of how her laughter had filled him with that same feeling "Ack!"

The apartment was filled with the sound of her paw connecting with the fox's muzzle, and he was stunned into stillness. His slowed assault had given her enough control over her body to hit him across the face, and as he slowly turned his head back around to look at her, a smile spread up all the way to his eyes. She was panting beneath him, eyes wide and lips curled into a soft smile, but she looked ready to fight if he tried it again. "In for a penny," Nick casually remarked, making the doe narrow her eyes. The fox wiggled his eyebrows, and his tongue dropped out of his mouth. "In for a pound."

She was not quick enough to stop the fox from dragging his tongue across her cheek, and she pushed both of her paws into the fur of his neck, scrambled to get away. "Ah!" she shrieked again, convulsing when he begun his tickling again. "Stop!" He was halfway through another drag of his tongue down her jawline when he hit a sensitive spot just above her hip, which made her involuntarily buck, her knees shooting upwards. What had been right in her path, however, was the wood tray filled with food in front of them. They both froze on the spot, looking wide-eyed at their fold-out table, tongue still flat against her jaw. What met their eyes was the sight of the wine bottle teetering over the edge.

Just as it was about to fall, Judy yelled in a panic. "The wine!" The rabbit pushed herself forward with all of the might in her legs, instinctively trying to catch the bottle as it fell. What she did not anticipate, and unfortunately forgot about, was the fact that she was bound to a certain vulpine. Nick's eyes bugged out of his head as he watched in slow motion the sweater being pulled away from his chest, as if he was witnessing a rope that had wrapped around his leg get pulled away by a falling anchor. The only thought to go through his mind before he was yanked forward by her powerful legs was a single word, ' _shit_ '.

He was vaguely aware of being pulled through the air, but as it all happened so fast, all he was really sure of was that he had landed, quite painfully, on his back. He had twisted through the air while Judy was reaching out for the bottle, and his tail and fast reflexes allowed him to instinctively change the trajectory, as to not crush her accidentally. Unfortunately for him, that meant _she_ had crushed _him_. He would never actually tell her this, but her hips were actually unbelievable heavy even for their size, and they had just knocked the wind out of his lungs so roughly that he could not even breath for a few seconds.

The next thing that he was aware of was that his arms had wrapped around her in the fall, and after a pained breath, he released his hold and let his arms go limp beside him. With his head spinning from the impact, he looked up at the damage, and when he saw only he had been damaged, he let his head thump back against the floor with a groan. It was a miracle that the wooden tray was still standing, completely undisturbed, and Nick was spread out to its immediate right, one leg draped up on the bed. It took a moment for him to stop seeing stars and to start recognizing the gunshots from the movie that was still playing.

With enough dizziness to make him want to throw up, he glanced up to their makeshift film screen. It was still the scene in the Nepal, so he was pretty confident he had not been knocked unconscious. "Okay…" Nick said in wheezing voice, still gasping for air and trying to force the world to stop spinning around him. " _That_ one I deserved. I'll own up to it."

"At least I saved the wine," Judy replied, causing the fox to glance down at the bunny spread out on her back on his chest, holding a perfectly intact wine bottle in her paws. Nick forced himself up onto his elbows with some struggling, causing the bunny to slide off him and thump onto the ground between his legs, looking at him with worry written across her face.

"Would you look at that," Nick replied drowsily, giving the bottle a once-over. When he looked into the doe's eyes, seeing her nose twitching as she studied him, he gave her his best smile. "Give me some of that to make the pain go away," he ordered, opening up his mouth. A smile reached up Judy's face as he stuck his tongue out, and she lifted the bottle up to press the opening into his tongue, which he guided the rest of the way to his mouth. He took a long swig at Judy's behest, allowing her to tilt the bottle upwards herself. Judy giggled breathily at how some wine dribbled out of the corners of his lips.

When she pulled the bottle away, Nick sighed in contention, thumping back down on his back and taking the doe with him, who let out a squeak as she was pulled back up onto him by the sweater. "Cheap alcohol has never tasted so good," he said lazily, watching the ceiling dance in his vision. Was it because he had hit his head or had he had too much? The fox didn't know, and frankly didn't really care. "If I had known that you could make anything taste like the good stuff simply by almost breaking your neck, I would never have spent so much money."

Judy laughed on his chest, and tried unsuccessfully to roll off him, forgetting again that they were joined. His beanie had fallen off at some point, and her ears were now draped over his chest, laying flat against him and over his shoulders. When she pulled her head up and tried to look around, her long appendages smacked him across the muzzle, and he tilted his head down to look at her, seeing that she was regarding the bottle in her paws. "We're almost out," she remarked plainly.

Nick's head thumped back onto the floor, and he considered his options. Maybe it would be for the best if they didn't have any more. Then again, when had that stopped them in the past? Rolling his head around to glance around the apartment, his ears pressed flat against the floor, his green orbs feel onto their cluttered kitchen, and he remembered their intention. "Eggnog?" he asked.

Judy was quiet for a moment, considering the proposal. After a long moment, her head thumped back into his chest and she hugged the wine bottle in her arms. "Eggnog," she deadpanned back.


	4. Chapter 4

_December 24th_

 _7:37 pm_

* * *

Nick knew he had less than a second to do this, and he was painfully aware of how much it was going to suck. Why he had listened to her advice when he was going to have to be the one to actually follow through with it, he did not know. In fact, he was seriously considering just leaving the pot out in the cold. The fox stood squarely, his jaw set and eyes steely as he stared out of the closed window and at the reflective metal pot buried in snow. It was a stupid idea. The moment he had felt the biting air pierce the fur on his face when he had set the pot out there, he should have decided to just stick it in the fridge, but it was too late now.

For what felt like the third or fourth time, Nick stole away his resolve to follow through, psyching himself up to the outside air. There would be a time for blame later, and with the prospect of more alcohol a pane of glass away, he flashed into motion. The window's latches and bars snapped open in a whirl of movement, and just as soon as it was open far enough for the fox to retrieve the pot just beyond, the freezing storm air rushed past him and into the apartment. It was a stupid idea. Nick's paws shot out onto the ledge and grabbed hold of the handles on either side of the pot, hissing in discontent when his pads grabbed metal so cold it burned.

Ripping the pot inside, he only was careful enough not to spill the contents just inside the lidded container, dropping it harshly on the seat of the wooden chair just next to him. In another whirlwind of movement, Nick's body twisted around and grabbed hold of the window's frame in one swift motion, slamming it down into place and shutting out the flurry of snow. For a long moment, the little snowflakes that had made it past the barrier drifted through the air before gently falling down onto the weathered hardwood floors. The abrupt end to the howling intensity of the storm's wrath left the apartment quieter than he could believe.

It took the fox a long moment to deflate after his exertion, and found one of his paws dropping limply to his side as the other drowsily fastened the latches on the window's frame. It was dark out, truly dark. If it wasn't for the street lamps, the fox would not be able to see anything through the relentless flurry that angrily assaulted the city at night. The other occupied apartments on their street shown through the blizzard as distant blurs of incandescent, and the dark silhouettes of the brick structures were nigh indistinguishable from the black air beyond. All Nick could see was the snow that kept falling through the glass.

He could still hear the strength of the wind flow through the city streets just beyond, but now he found himself far more aware of the other sounds of the apartment. The credits to Raiders of the Lost Ark were playing, and the matte painting of the warehouse had already given way to the black roll of names, and the orchestral Indiana Jones theme played quietly through the apartment. The only other light in the room was the colorful shine from the Christmas tree, shining a multicolored display up the corner of the apartment to the ceiling, stretching in either direction on the walls and slightly overpowering the projector's powerful beam.

"So, you really don't think he would end up marrying Marion?" Judy asked, drawing the fox's attention from the window to the bed beside him.

The rabbit had relinquished possession of their sweater so that he could venture out into the cold air of the apartment, and she had taken to transforming herself into a mammalian burrito. The light green blanket that had been neatly laid out over the bed had been ripped from its place and wrapped completely around the bunny, making Judy look like a strange green worm. The only thing he could see of her was her face, slightly flushed from all of the alcohol she had been drinking, and the tips of her paws holding the blanket around herself. His crimson beanie was barely visible on her forehead, as she was using the material to completely cover her head like a parka.

"No," Nick replied, falling back into the conversation they had been having. The fox rubbed his paws together to create friction for his cold pads, staring at the bunny burrito with a neutral expression. "It doesn't make any sense at all."

Judy's brow furrowed and her nose scrunched up like she had taken personal offense to his opinion. "What do you mean it doesn't make sense?" she asked, taking one finger off of her vice grip on the blanket around her to point accusatively at him. "They already were together before this movie. It makes _perfect_ sense."

Nick just rolled his eyes openly at her, noting how her voice was on the very cusp of being slurred. "That's just a lazy way for the screenwriters to get away with setting up a romance without actually _setting up_ the romance," the todd flatly replied. When he was done with creating friction for his chilly paws, he returned his attention to the pot that idly rested on the seat of the chair. Unceremoniously, he lifted it up and began his trek over to their kitchen, scanning for a section of the shelf not occupied with dirty dishes. "Why the hell would she marry _him_ , anyway? Didn't he leave her tied up in the paws of the bad guys so he could be the first one to discover a box buried in the sand?"

"They had a lot going on besides that," Judy defended as he walked past, kicking up one of her hind paws to smack him in the calf unsuccessfully. Her back was leaning up fully against the brick section of wall, and the only things that hung off the side of her relatively small bed were her two large hind paws, wound tightly together by the end of the blanket that Nick had tucked underneath her legs to keep the warmth inside. Her attempt to kick him look like nothing more than a small jolt on the end of the strange green worm, and Nick snorted in amusement at her actions.

"What?" he asked incredulously, a lopsided smile creeping up his face as he turned slightly on his way to the kitchen to look at her. She puffed out her cheeks at his amused, lidded smirk, and visibly prepared herself for whatever jibe he had coming. "Did we watch the same movie just now? The one where the only reason she followed Indie off on his adventure was because he owed her _money_?"

Judy blew the puff of air she had stored in her cheeks and defiantly turned her nose up and away from the fox, closing her eyes. The fox could not help the chuckle that escaped his chest as he looked at her flushed features. Drunk Judy had found a comfortable spot somewhere in his icy heart, and her exaggerated enthusiasm lost none of its fervent intensity no matter how much she drank. In fact, more often than not it got even worse. "Who do _you_ think he would marry, then?" she demanded.

Shaking his head slowly as he turned back to their shelf, he picked an empty, cold burner to drop the pot onto. "Indiana Jones is _not_ the marrying type," he replied, double checking the burner wasn't on. He was fairly sure he had shut it off after the eggnog was done cooking, but his memory was not entirely reliable at the moment. "He was a selfish asshole that slept around and only cared about the money Marcus was paying him for all his ill-gotten goods. He's like James Bond. All the women in these movies are just there for him to bed down with, and Marion is the equivalent of this week's Bond girl."

The scoff that escaped the small bunny was so loud, it caused Nick to cock an eyebrow and glance over his shoulder, seeing that she had narrowed her unfocused eyes at him. "Don't be so cynical," she said, squirming in her mammalian burrito so she could take her whole paw out of the wrapping and point at him with her small, grey paw. "He went after the stones in Temple of Doom to save the village and he left to save his father in the Last Crusade. Indie is a good guy."

In like fashion, Nick scoffed back, turning around to face the pot of eggnog and lifting the lid off to be discarded with the rest of the dirty dishes. "'Fortune and glory' Indiana Jones?" he asked plainly, fetching two coffee mugs from the top shelf as well as their second ladle. "Are we talking about the same wolf? He wasn't even particularly torn up when he thought that she had died."

"What _ever_ ," Judy replied sassily, making the fox's lips curl upwards and his ears relax. He was setting up the two cups in front of him as he glanced back to see that she had turned her nose back up at him, defiantly pulling the blanket tighter around her face. "I think it would be sweet if they wound up together in the end."

Nick rolled his green eyes. "Yeah, okay." Turning back around to look at his progress, Nick surveyed the scene. The creamy liquid in the inside of the container was thick and frothy, and the walls of the black interior of the pot were blotched with the barely translucent liquid. Carefully, and accessing his ability to properly control his motor functions, he dipped the ladle into the liquid, watching the metal bowl on the end of the metal rod disappear below. "I bet you just have a _thing_ for bad boys," he remarked, his lazy smile pulling farther up his face when Judy snorted behind him.

"In your _dreams_ , Wilde." Nick tilted his head back over his shoulder as he stirred the thick cream, giving the doe wrapped up on the bed his best lidded smirk. Judy met his gaze with her own. Imbued with equal amounts incredulity and amusement, her lidded eyes matched her slightly twitching nose, accentuating the lazy way her lips parted in a smile to reveal her buck teeth. "The only _'thing'_ I have with bad boys is wanting to put them in cuffs."

"Oh, I'm sure you do," Nick replied dryly.

Judy burst out into a fit of breathy giggles, closing her eyes shut tight as her small body shook the green cocoon. "Shut _up_ ," she sung back at him, opening her eyes so that her dazzling lavender orbs shone through the dim light of the apartment in a way that made Nick's breath catch in his throat. There was that feeling again. In just one night it had grown from an inkling to full-blow permeation, and it seemed to only grow in strength as time went on. "You're incorrigible."

Humming back at her, Nick turned away just in time to keep his momentary lapse in cognizant thought from being noticeable, and continued on his task of stirring the cold, creamy liquid. The metal handle of the ladle made a spiralling shape that remain in the thick liquid for several seconds before the surface smoothed back out. Waving his paw around the edge of the pot, he tested for any lingering warmth, and once he was sure he found none, the fox leaned over to take a long drag off of the cold air that wafted around the open pot. It was savory and creamy, with the faintest hints of egg and bourbon.

It always seemed like a strange thing to Nick. If he was honest, he was never one to mix drinks or create some game or obstacle between him and getting drunk. At least, that's how he had been before he had moved in with Judy. He had found more than a little enjoyment out of the fruity and sometimes plainly ridiculous concoctions that the rabbit had gotten in her mind to try, and they also found themselves in strict competition in the form of drinking games on a number of occasions. However odd it would have been to the old Nick, the new one enjoyed the process just as much as cooking. It was like a piece of a life he had never thought possibly, yet here it all was, ultimately proving him wrong.

Straightening back up from his spot, Nick peered over his shoulder to the doe and saw that she was off in her own little world, buzzing with the lingering alcohol. For a moment, he just watched her eyes lazily trace the sharp edges of their apartment, her nose flushed and twitching despite how neutral the rest of her features looked. It was all she could do to maintain her wide-eyed cheerfulness, but the effects of the wine caused cracks in her composure, occasionally making her eyes twitch into lidded inebriation before they snapped back open. No matter how hard he tried, the little ways in which Judy tried to hide her drunken state always brought a smile to him.

It was a fleeting smile, though, as eventually her eyes fell onto his studious gaze, her nose abruptly twitching when she realized she was being watched. "The eggnog is ready," Nick casually informed her, not allowing her mind to dwell on the fact that he was staring. Luckily for him, it seemed to work, as her lavender eyes drifted over to the pot. "It says we were supposed to refrigerate it overnight, but I think an hour out in the snow is good enough."

Her brow came together in thought as she scrutinized the container in front of the fox. "That doesn't really sound right," she drawled out, pausing to bite her lip in thought as she studied pot. After a long moment she shrugged, or at least attempted one. "But okay." Judy stole a glance down at her current predicament and looked back up into Nick's eyes with a furrowed brow. "Get me a glass so I don't have to get out of this."

Nick snorted at her and turned back around to the shelf. "Okay, _Your Majesty_ ," he replied. The fox busied himself with pouring the ladlefuls of eggnog into both of the coffee mugs he had set out. One of them had the ZPD insignia on it while the other had an old-fashioned design that was made to look like the 'welcome to Zootopia' sign that the train passed on its way into the city. "Would you like me to get you anything else while I'm over here?"

A brief moment passed as Judy hummed in thought. "Get the presents," she finally said. "We'll open them over here."

"We're doing that now, are we?" Nick glanced over his shoulder to give the bunny an inquisitive look, darting his eye between her and the stack of presents that sat comfortably under the small tree. She nodded enthusiastically at him, and he turned away with an absent shrug. "Sounds good to me. I'd like to be able to remember opening them up, myself."

Another spout of giggles permeated through the apartment and warmed the fox's heart. "Exactly my thought," Judy replied.

Having poured a good amount into both of the mugs, Nick turned his attention to searching their makeshift kitchen for the nutmeg, which was more difficult than he anticipated. After a long night of using their already cluttered counter space, their various containers and shakers of spices and seasoning were strewn throughout the several shelves. It took some effort of pushing some things to the side and lifting a few piles of stacked pots and pans before his green eyes finally fell onto the plastic container, which had been knocked over and had rolled back behind a discarded hotplate sometime in the night.

Unceremoniously, the fox swiped the container up and quickly popped the lid off, grabbing hold of both of the coffee mugs' handles with one paw as he dashed a few sprinkled of the brown spice onto the two servings before discarding it back onto the shelf. Turning, he saw that Judy had wormed her way slightly out of her tangle of blankets, having more than just her face exposed to the elements and enjoying the free movement afforded to her arms by stretching them out tirely, grimacing at the peak of her stretch and deflating against the brick face behind her.

It was only one step from the kitchen to the edge of the bed for the fox, but it was strange how large the shoebox felt after a while of living with Judy. He believed it would feel incredibly strange to live in a space where they were no more than a couple strides from each other at any given time, and the thought that he would be giving this up once again in just a few short days crawled its way up into his mind. Nick pushed it back as he leaned over the bed to hand the two coffee mugs over, having no desire to allow it to damper his mood. It didn't matter either way, because when she accepted the offered mugs with a soft smile, the future was the last thing on his mind.

Nick turned his back to the doe again, taking the one step he needed to find himself in front of Judy's cluttered desk. The realistically tiny floorspace certainly aided his tendency to be lazy, with him being very capable of turning the coffee machine on without even having to leave his comfortable nest, using an extendable pointer made for a mammal larger than himself. He thought it was amazing, as he collected a few of the presents from the below the tree, that the apartment never _felt_ crowded. Even when they had to maneuver around each other just to get past, at times it was almost like it was _still_ too large.

It was easy enough to stuff the collection of presents under his arm. The largest box had already been opened, and only eight colorfully wrapped presents remained. Nick's were all mismatched, being wrapped at whatever store he had gotten them from, but Judy's were uniform in their wrapping. They all had the same bright shade of red with spherical ornament accents and were topped with a shiny red stick-on bows. It stood in stark contrast to Nick's clinically wrapped boxes with monochrome colors and lacking any real flare, and the fox briefly wondered if he should have done them himself even if they would have come out a lot less professional.

Turning around with the collection, Nick saw Judy taking a long gulp of the eggnog from the ZPD mug, her eyebrows raised up on her forehead and nose twitching as she savored it. Nick was powerless to stop the small smile that crept up his features as he deposited the pile of presents on the bed next to her wrapped up legs. Their makeshift TV tray had been discarded after they were done with it, laying idly next to the bed's frame on the far end. He spared it a quick glance before climbing up onto the mattress himself, noting how they would have to take a warm washcloth to it the next day to clean up the drunken mess.

Nick settled himself down next to her with his back pressed up against the green wall that framed the brick section, wiggling around in his spot so that he could find the most comfortable position. When he had sat down, he pulled his tail around to rest between them; the bushy fur of his long appendage reaching both of their bodies they were so close. Once he had found himself comfortable, he turned his pointed snout towards the rabbit next to him, who was taking another long sip from her mug. When she noticed him looking at her, she pulled the mug from her face, licking some of the thick cream off of her top lip as she handed the other mug to him.

Taking the mug with a warm smile, he pulled it up to his lips himself, sniffing the air. "How is it?" he asked.

Judy thought for a moment to come up with the right words, humming away. Her eyes lit up when the words came to her, and she turned her head to give him a broad smile. "This one time - back on the farm - our freezer broke sometime during the night in summer. When we woke up, all of our ice cream was melting, and me and a couple of my siblings ate as much as we could before it went bad. It tastes a lot like the vanilla ice cream," she said. Nick watched her look back down into her mug, her brow knitting as if she disagreed with her own explanation. "I mean, if it was nutmeg and bourbon flavored, that is."

It was Nick's turn to take a sip, and he was pleased to find that to wasn't actually that bad. Licking his lips as he stared down into his mug, he cocked an eyebrow at the doe to his side. Even though he had technically put in far fewer eggs than the recipe called for, he could still clearly taste the undertones of it. "You don't taste the eggs at all?"

"I don't actually know how I would even be able to tell," she replied before taking another long drag off the liquid, storing it in her cheeks to swish it around with a thoughtful expression. Satisfied, she swallowed the drink and turned back to look at Nick. "But I don't taste anything weird." A large smile crept up her flat muzzle, cream and sprinkled nutmeg clinging to the fur of her upper lip. "I really like it, actually."

A dry breath of amusement escaped the fox's muzzle as he gazed at her with lidded eyes. "I'm glad," he said, watching her take another sip. Before she was done, Nick lifted up his paw and placed a clawed finger onto the lip of the mug, pushing it down and away from her mouth. "Don't drink it too fast, though. I put more bourbon in it than I was supposed to, and I don't want you getting sloshed because you can't pace yourself."

Judy harrumphed at his order, sticking her flushed nose up into the air at him. "I can pace myself _fine_ , Wilde."

Cocking an eyebrow, Nick traded his vision between her and her half-empty mug. "Really?" he asked, giving her a toothy smile. "I seem to remember that you have a tendency to go a little over your limit when it comes to mixed drinks-"

"That was _one_ time," she said, cutting him off. Her confident expression did not last long under his amused gaze, and she turned away from him. "Okay, a little more than one…" Nick was about to say something before she whipped back around and stuck one of her grey fingers into the air in front of his snout. "But not very many!"

Nick chuckled. "Don't worry about it, Fluff." Bringing his free paw up to rest on the top of her head, he jostled his crimson beanie around until it covered her eyes, making Judy have to lift it back up so she could glare at him. "I just don't want you to wake up on your day off with a horrible hangover." He went to take another sip of his eggnog before pausing, tilting his snout around to flash a smug grin. "Well, actually I really just don't want to hear you complain about it, but same thing - Ouch!"

Nick rubbed his injured bicep where the bunny had hit him, grimacing at her as if it had genuinely hurt. "Thin ice, fox," Judy said, pointing at him with an accusatory finger, a warm smile proudly displaying her buck teeth. "Thin ice."

Raising both of his paws in surrender - still holding onto his mug with one - Nick gave her a look of amusement, abandoning his soothing caress of the wound she had given him. "Hey," he said, jerking his head to the side. "So long as we're really sleeping in tomorrow, I'll do whatever you tell me."

"Who said anything about sleeping in?" she asked. Nick stopped halfway through his pull off the mug of eggnog and glared at her through the corner of his eye. She was smiling up at him with her own brand of smug self-confidence, taking great pleasure in the way he turned his head to scowl at her. Giggling, she took a sip of her own, ignoring his silent demand to explain herself. "I said I wasn't going to force you on a run," Judy said in a singsong voice. "I didn't say _anything_ about sleeping in past noon."

In an instant, the fox's usually jovial expression fell away to distinct irritation, his brow furrowing dangerously low on his forehead. Nick sneered loudly, his lips pulling up in distaste to show off his rows of sharp tips. "Oh, you're _evil_ , you know that?"

Judy chuckled heartily after an exaggerated snort. "Don't be like that," she replied. They settled into a comfortable silence for a moment, sipping on their cold mugs lazily as their eyes drifted around the apartment. It was a nice feeling for the fox, being able to sit comfortably in a quiet room, not feeling like he had to say something just to keep it from feeling awkward. In the corner of his vision, he saw her happily lick the cream off of her upper lip again, staring down into her mug with a soft smile. That same feeling was back, feeling like a dull ache rising from his stomach. Before he could dwell on it, though, she broke the silence.

"We should _do_ something tomorrow, though," Judy said, turning to meet his sideways gaze and gesturing with a paw around them. "I don't want to be trapped in here all day."

Nick studied her for a long moment, searching her eyes. After awhile, he turned his attention back to the window, seeing the flurry of snow that continued to fall across the city streets just beyond. A low hum escaped his lips as he thought. "If it keeps snowing like it is, we might not have a choice in the matter," he said. When he looked back to the doe beside him, the fox could see the disappointed look in her eyes as she looked out the window. "How about we talk about it in the morning, Carrots? Maybe after you sober up you'll see the merits to _my_ idea. You could stand to sleep in more."

Her dazzling lavender eyes trailed back around to the fox beside her, and they held the gaze for some time. Unable to maintain the connection, Nick turned away in thought. "I take that back. When you sober up, you'll probably just be _more_ gung-ho about going ice-skating or whatever." Without looking, he brought his free paw up to push on the bottom of her mug, raising it back to her lips. "Drink more of this."

Snorting at the fox, though she obeyed nonetheless, she pulled the mug away after taking another sip. "Trying to get me drunk so I don't want to get out of bed, Slick?" she asked.

"You're already drunk."

Judy clicked her tongue before taking another sip. "Am _not_."

The comfortable silence returned, and the odd pair of mammals sat still beside each other. Across from them, the projector beamed the image of the DVD menu for Raiders of the Lost Ark, having been muted after it was over. In a rare moment of sobriety for the evening, Nick found himself deep in thought as he clutched the rapidly emptying mug. Even after several months of this kind of behavior, there were rare moments, nestled in the long pauses of conversation, where Nick did not know what to think. All of this, no matter how comfortable, was still new, and he still found himself unsure.

It was a growing fear that he was doing this wrong. What did he know about the kind of friendship that they shared, _really_? In reality, not much. Beyond how comfortable they were around each other, and how easily they fell into routine, there were little things that made him pause, chief among them being that feeling that had grown almost painful. Whatever it was, it demanded his attention more and more, and the longer he pushed it away, relegated it to the back of his mind until he thought he had time, the louder it became. What's more, it was like if he even gave it purchase in his mind, or allowed it a voice to just hear what it was saying, it grew in such fervent intensity that he had no choice but to push it away.

He likened it to a nervous nausea, or what a vacuum would feel like if one was created in the bottom of your stomach. Equal parts painful and blinding in its ability to sooth, it was beginning to control his demeanor. Nick found himself pursuing like actions to what had caused it in the past, desperately trying to capture the same feeling no matter how piercing the ache could become. Perhaps he would visit a doctor about it. If it was some kind of stomach bug or induced sickness, it would be better to find some kind of cure before his life and the lives of others were placed in his paws on the beat. If nothing else, he'd look online later.

Whatever the case, it should not concern him now. He was enjoying the best Christmas Eve since he was a small child, and he owed it to the rabbit beside him not to ruin it through some small discomfort. The knowledge that it was her first Christmas without her family weighed heavily on his shoulders, and glancing over at her, watching her stare into her mug with lidded eyes, he found himself hoping again that she would like her presents. Trying to buy her happiness seemed like a strange thing, but he had absolutely no idea what to do otherwise. Nick wished he was able to come up with something more heartfelt, or even emotional. Simple trinkets could not convey just how grateful he was, and he knew it.

Nick's eyes drifted down to the pile of presents between them. The majority of his presents had been a combination of impulse and careful planning. The impulse would more times than not come straight from Judy during one of their long phone calls, and the planning came from having to find times between training to go out and purchase what he needed. Others were not so meticulous; they came to him one his way towards other goals, in the windows of stores or objects that inspired other ideas. In truth, what he worried about above everything else was that he did not know her as well as he thought. The idea that he didn't know what she liked was far more terrifying than her simply not liking the presents.

An effort was made to still is turbulent mind, and Nick found his brow furrowing on his forehead as he stared at the presents. With a quick huff, he downed the rest of his eggnog in one loud gulp and tilted his snout around to gaze at Judy, who was looking at him with a cocked eyebrow. "We're even thanks to opening up this sweater earlier," he said, gesturing with his snout to the collection of presents, eliciting the bunny to follow the motion. "So should we flip a coin?"

Judy's expression fell away and her eyes became steely. "Absolutely not," she deadpanned. The fox slowly raised his brow at her as he placed the now empty mug off the the side, no longer worried it would spill on the bed. Judy sat down her eggnog as well, having to take several gulps unlike the fox, and pulled it away with a sharp gasp of air. Sitting up, she placed her mug on top of the closed laptop to her right, and leaned forward to pluck out a specific present among the stack of brightly wrapped boxes. It was the largest of her four, and notably the lightest from what Nick had felt when he ferried it over to the bed.

When she leaned back, she tossed the box into the fox's lap unceremoniously. "You're opening mine first so I don't have to worry about following something really sweet with _this_ ," she said, pointing harshly at the present.

Chuckling at her apparent lack of confidence in her gift, the first thing he did was lift the box up to the side of his head and shake it about, trying to guess the contents before he even opened it. "You put far too much confidence in me, Carrots," he said, pulling the bow off and tossing it to the side. "How do you know I didn't just get you a bunch of really lame dollar store gifts?"

The doe next to him clicked her tongue, though worry flashed over her features as he began tearing the bright red wrapping away. "I don't care if you made everything in those boxes out of macaroni and glue," she replied. "I'll love them no matter what."

"If I had known, I would have actually bought the macaroni," he said dryly, glancing over at her from his task of unwrapping the box in his paws. "They're a lot cheaper than the farfalle that I used." Judy giggled at that comment. As he continued, she captured her bottom lip between her enormous incisors and chewed absently on it, watching the present come undone with lidded eyes.

It was an off-white box made from thin cardboard, the same kind that you would see contain clothes bought from a department store. Despite that, it looked far older than something she would have gotten solely for the gift in his paws, and could only guess it was recycled. Balling up the torn wrapping paper, he tossed the bundle away, keeping his eyes on the cardboard in his lap. Carefully, he sliced open the pieces of scotch tape that held the lid in place and lifted it up and away to give himself a clear view of the contents. What he saw made him equal parts amused an offended.

Nesstled comfortably in a nest of tissue paper, it was difficult to immediately tell what they were, but it was more than obvious why she didn't want to follow anything with it. The material was jet-black and was spotted with colorful cartoon carrots, the almost neon orange and green popping out of the deep black around it. Grabbing hold of one of the objects, he lifted it out to reveal the fact that it was a tie, the jet-black material far more glossy and thick than the counterpart that still sat in the box. The other object was actually a set of three, all of them being identical pairs of silky boxers, proudly displaying the same black, orange, and green pattern.

" _Wow_ , Carrots," Nick drawled out, a lopsided smile creeping up one side of his muzzle as he held one of the boxers out in the air in front of him. Turning it around, there was no end to the pattern. It was impossible - both in the tie and the boxers - to _not_ see the cartoon carrots pop out of the nearly pitch-black material, more than likely clearly visible from more than a mile away. "You really _shouldn't_ have."

Judy giggled breathily next to him, giving the fox a toothy grin. "At least _try_ to look like you don't hate it," she said, looking back down at underwear with the beginnings of a pensive expression.

Nick dropped the boxers back into the cardboard box. "What can I say?" he asked, turning his head around so that he could look at the rabbit next to him. "You were right on the nose when you said you shouldn't follow anything with this." For a moment, Judy didn't react, and Nick wondered if he should really have said that. With his own pensive glare, he looked down into the box, his paws running over the soft material within. Strangely enough, it was technically his first present in more than twenty years, and no matter how comical they might have been, he could not bring himself to disliking them.

Slowly, his paw reached out and picked up the tie again, holding it up so that he could study the long piece of cloth. It was exactly his size, and it was not lost on him that she must have taken one of his own ties to the store to make sure it was correct. Nick's brow furrowed, and a second later he threw the material over his shoulders. Without sparing the bunny a glance, he popped up the pine-green collar of the shirt just below his Christmas sweater and began tying the material around his neck. Once the knot had been expertly done and pushed up to his neck, he fixed the collar and began stuffing the necktie down the collar of his sweater.

After he was done, he lifted the boxers into the air and turned to give Judy his best lidded smile. She was staring at him in awe, her nose twitching rapidly with her lips slightly parted. "They're not bad," he said plainly, flapping the pair of underpants in her direction. "But if you were hoping to get some pictures with me in these, you're going to have to do more than ask nicely. I have a going rate, you know." Finally breaking her bewilderment at him putting on the tie, she chuckled at his joke, playfully hitting him on the arm. Nick returned the chuckled, lowering his paws again and turning his head around to look at the boxers.

"Where did you even get something like this?" he asked, gesturing at the small set of underwear with his paw. "I wouldn't think that there was someone that made carrot themed clothing in my size." When he looked back over in her direction, she was staring at the black knot spotted the faintest glimpse of colorful carrots poking out from the collar of his sweater with glassy eyes, a warm smile on her lips. When she realized that the question was directed at her, Judy's two shimmering amethyst eyes shot up to meet his gaze; her face was still flush, her nose still twitching, and the fox was having a hard time figuring out if it was just the booze.

"Online," she replied tentatively, looking away with a bashful smile as a paw came up to smooth down the fur on her cheek. Nick could feel the tendrils of that same feeling reach up from his stomach again, and this time he let it dwell for the time being. A genuine smile reached up his muzzle as he replaced the boxers into the cardboard, closing it carefully and setting the unwrapped present to the side. Even if he would probably never admit it, he was certainly going to be wearing them back at the academy.

"So, am I batting zero for one right now?" she asked, trying to hide her embarrassment with levity.

Nick tilted his head to the side to flash her an amused smirk. "I'll give you half a point. I could always use more laundry day clothes." Judy puffed out her cheeks at his comment, and Nick couldn't help but laugh. Still, a noticeable shine was in her eyes after finding out that he didn't outright hate her gift. He didn't know himself, but if it was unusual to _get_ gifts with a family of neigh three hundred, it was probably just as strange to _give_ them. She certainly gave off an air of uncertainty with her presents, and if this was the worst she had to offer, he did not think she had anything to worry about. He'd have accepted a six-pack and a night of hanging out.

For whatever reason, Nick found himself hesitating when he reached down to give her the first of the four he had prepared. With the ice-breaker that was his sweater effectively nullified, all he had was a couple boxes of _genuine_ gifts, and the idea of coming across as serious didn't sit as comfortably as it probably should. Regardless of how he felt about it, he didn't really have a choice in the matter. He would have to let Judy open her presents eventually, and with a barely noticeable shrug, the fox snatched one of the boxes off the top of the pile and passed it over to the bunny wrapped in the green blanket next to him.

"Your turn," he said, his eyes trailing down to her shoulders. Nick wondered if she was cold as she took the box from him, seeing that the only thing she had was her purple cashmere sweater.

Trying to control her eager anticipation, she chewed on her lip while she carefully plucked at the tape that held the wrapping paper in place. Nick watched her with genuine interest, his own kind of anticipation building up behind his ears. The slow way that she deliberately tried not to rip the paper was making the fox squirm where he sat, wishing that she would just rip the proverbial bandaid off and give him her reaction. Finally, the paper gave way, and she slid the entire sheet clean off the box without so much as an extra crease, tossing it over the tod to drift gently down next to his angry mess of torn paper.

When her eyes returned to the cardboard container held in her padless paws, her expression seized. Nick witnesses a few things in those moments of silence; Judy's nose began to twitch as the rest of her face widened, the paw that was returning to the box veered away and came up to cover her parted lips, and her eyes darted up from the packaging to meet his careful gaze. It was a cardboard box that you would see on the shelves of a department store, and on the front proudly displayed two bunny sized lower pawguards. The bright colored marketing of the box claimed quality and high value, though the price tag had been scratched off in a rush.

Nick, taking the astonished look in her eyes as his cue to explain his gift, cleared his throat and pointed at one of the listed features on the box. "They've got gel in the soles," he said lamely, having to clear his throat a second time to find his voice. "It said on the box that they're supposed to make it easier on your paws if you're running on concrete, but you know how stuff claimed on the box goes."

The fox began chewing on the inside of his cheek when she didn't lose her surprised expression, feeling his ear twitch under her eyes. He made an attempt to shrug, though it came off forced and awkward to the point that he had to recover by bring up one of his paws to comb the cream colored fur of his neck. "You said your hind paws hurt after a long day," he said, gesturing pointlessly with the paw he had used to indicate where the box claimed to have gel soles. "So I thought maybe you could use something a little better than those other ones."

After a long time of giving him a blinkless stare, Judy finally turned her attention back to the gift in her grasp. Slowly, the paw she used to mask her mouth came down to run over the face of the box, her brow furrowing on her forehead. She took several quick glances at the fox, her already conflicted expression growing more unsure after every pass. "I'm…" she said, though her voice trailed off when it was clear she didn't actually know what she was going to say. Taking the packaging in both paws she brought it up to her chest as she looked over to the fox with wary eyes. "I'm really glad I didn't follow this."

Nick let out a breath he did not even know he was holding in, and found himself deflating in relief. One of his paws came up to awkwardly rub the thick fur on the back of his neck as he looked at the box in her paws, mulling over her words. "Hey," he said with a dismissive shrug. "I got you an ugly sweater as a gag gift, so-"

The fox's words were cut off when the box thumped against the mattress, leaving the bunny's arms free so that she could lunge into the side of his chest. Again, Nick found himself unable to breathe as he looked down at the doe, her face pushed into his ribs harshly and her arms trying desperately to pull him in closer, creating furrows in his sweater. "Thank you," she said into him, her hot breath snaking through his several layers of clothing to make it to his fur, warming him up to his core.

Easing into the embrace, he placed his arm across her shoulders, grabbing onto her carefully and returning the hug. Since she could not see his face, he allowed his features to relax completely; the ears on his head lost their perkiness to the dull comfort and a tender smile slid up on his muzzle.

"Alright, Fluff," he replied, patting her on the shoulder with a paw that made her look small. "We've got a couple more to go, so let's save the hugging for the end." When Judy was pulling away, Nick forced the easy lidded smirk back onto his face just in time for her to meet his gaze.

Her expression was unsure as she searched his eyes, her nose twitching every few seconds as she tried to formulate some kind of response. Recognizing the fact that she was having a tough time, the fox just nodded his head slowly at her, silently telling her he understood. Upon seeing this gesture, Judy pursed her lips and her brow furrowed. Finally, she lifted one of her paws up and placed it gently onto the side of his muzzle. Every muscle in his body demanded that he pull away, but that feeling didn't let him; it locked him in place. His features slackened again when she mouthed a silent 'thank you', accompanying it with a tender smile.

It took every bit of his resolve to keep his face neutral save for a slight rise in his eyebrows. He wouldn't say the air had become awkward, but it was certainly unfamiliar. Even with all the time they had spent in such close proximity, the gesture was gentle in a way that had never occurred before, and it made his breath hitch.

Feeling ready to step out of the feeling that permeated his being, he made a dismissive snort as an attempt to be humorous, and waved his paw towards the pile of presents. "Pick another one."

Snapping out of her focused gaze into his eyes, she followed his gesture to the pile between them. It took several seconds for her to look back with a fleeting, strange expression before pulling away from him. She leaned down to her knees again, pushing one of his presents to the side to pick up a specific box with a red bow, and straightened back up against the brick wall while chewing on her lip. "So…" she said quietly, her voice trailing off into the cold air of the apartment. "This one isn't really…" Making a frustrated noise, she just looked up into his eyes apprehensively before handing over the wrapped box.

"I actually don't really know how to explain it," she whispered, thrusting the box into his surprised paws. "Just open it."

Nick cocked an eyebrow as he found a good hold on the box and started ripping the paper away. The bow came off first, tossed into the same place the first had gone. Next, he used one of his claws to create a long cut in the side of the box, using the weakened section to tear the entire packaging off in one motion. Underneath was a simple cardboard box, weathered and old he recognized it was one of the boxes she used to move back into the apartment. Slicing the scotch tape off easily, the cardboard sprung open without him having to touch the lip, the force of whatever was inside pushing the lid out to give him a clear view of what was inside.

Strangely, he was not met with some sight of some new piece of clothing or tool that he could use in his everyday life. Far from it, the matted cotton fur and absolutely archaic material that captured his full attention created a feeling that he did not understand. Carefully, as if he was afraid the contents would break if he was not gentle, Nick lifted the cardboard flaps away so he could clearly see what was inside. It was a stuffed animal, weathered and saturated in Judy's scent. The silence hung in the air as the fox retracted his claws as much as he could to retrieve the stuffed animal, holding it up into the air.

The once-soft synthetic cotton fur had matted in its old age, little bits of lint and dust clinging to the slightly brownish fur of its body. Around the eyes and reaching down its stomach from the button nose, the fur was off-white and speckled with the markings of a long life. It looked so small in his large paws, resting so easily in his palm. Nick's careful features lost its sharp edges, and he felt his jaw hang open as his ears swiveled backwards. It wasn't just any stuffed animal, it was a stuffed rabbit. More than that, though, stuck to the front of its fraying blue dress was a wrinkled and creased shiny gold sticker.

Nick had lost the ability to use his mind in any meaningful way. In truth, as he stared into the dull brown eyes of the stuffed rabbit, something stirred inside of him. Something he had not felt in a very long time. Slowly, his head rose to look at the doe beside him, still unable to even perceive the expression filled with worry that she adorned. "Carrots…" he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "This is _the_ stuffed rabbit, isn't it?"

A soft smile crept up her flat muzzle as she looked at the bunny in his paws, running her lidded eyes over the Junior Police Detective sticker that had meant so much to her for years of her life. "Yeah," she whispered back. Judy's eyes snapped back up to meet his gaze, and her resolve faltered under his disbelieving look. "I can't be over there to cheer you on, so I thought you could take that…" She gestured at the stuffed rabbit with one of her paws, her nose and face flushing from his lack of reaction.

"I mean, to let you know that I'm always there for you?" she asked lamely, her shoulders pulling up her neck to shield herself and her smile falling. After another few seconds of Nick's silent scrutinization, she fidgeted in her spot, a paw coming up to pat down the fur of her cheek as she looked away. "Oh, carrots, I don't know what I was think-"

"I love it."

The room was silent, and the bunny had frozen in place. As if she was afraid that she had misheard, she did not look at him for a long few seconds. In the shock, her nose had stopped twitching, but despite that, the paw that had come up to pat down her cheek stayed raised, playing with the hem of his crimson beanie as she sat looking away from him. It took her quite a while until she mustered up the courage to look at him, her face burning and her eyes filled with conflict. He was looking at her, and not a hint of his snarkiness, sarcasm, or even the mask he wore so well was present. All that she could see was Nick, gently holding onto the stuffed rabbit and staring into her amethyst eyes with such sincerity that it made her flush deeper.

Judy began chewing on her lip as her eyes darted between him and the stuffed rabbit. "Are…" she said, her voice trailing off with such uncertainty that it only made Nick look at her more intensely. "Are you sure?" She had locked her eyes on him, pouring out every bit of emotion that she could, opening herself up completely. It was something that she did that never ceased to stun the fox, and this time was no different.

Nodding, he glanced down at the stuffed rabbit in his paws, tilting it so that the reflective barge could catch the light of the brightly lit screen in front of them. His lidded eyes were gentle as he studied it, almost lethargic in their comfort. " _Absolutely_."

The bunny beside him breathed a sigh of intense relief, deflating to almost half her size. For a moment, she just watched him study the gift, though she eventually broke the silence. "It kinda has a story behind it," she said, eliciting the fox to glance up from the contents of his paws to look up at her. Judy's eyes reflected deep uncertainty once again, and her lips came together in a fine line as she thought about what to say next. She spared him one more glance before stealing away her nerves, she ripped the green cocoon off of her. "One second."

Nick watched her with raised eyebrows as she struggled out of the tight wrapping, pulling away pieces just to get more tangled with others. Finally free from the trap of her own design, she scooted to the end of the bed and hopped down onto the weathered hardwood floor with a soft thump. With great interest, the fox's piercing green eyes trailed along her backside as she made her way over to the stack of file boxes next to her desk, his vision occasionally sinking down to the sway in her tail as she moved. He thought she must have been cold, and his interest was peaked to know that she was willing to brave the brisk air for whatever she was after.

Pulling the lid off the top file box, she stuck her paws into the interior, pushing aside papers and other pieces that he could not see as she dug into the box for whatever lay within. Suddenly, she stopped, nose twitching and eyes locked on the object of her pursuit. A moment passed, and finally Judy turned to look over her shoulder, giving Nick a hopeful gaze. "Please hear me out before you call me weird?" she asked softly, a warm smile creeping up her muzzle without actually reaching her eyes.

The words made Nick narrow his eyes at her, not particularly enjoying the directions this could go. Still, he clutched the stuffed rabbit closer and nodded his head. "I make no promises," he replied. Judy responded with a forced, toothy grin, showing off her buck teeth hidden just beyond her lips before turning back around. He saw her shoulders and chest rise up as she took a deep breath, and with a whirling motion, she spun on her heels to face him. Her expression was plastered with forced confidence and she puffed up her chest and cheeks to make herself look bigger.

For a moment, Nick just blinked at her, tilting his head to the side and cocking an eyebrow in confusion. Slowly, though, his eyes trailed down to the object she was longing to her chest. It was long and pointed in places, colored in distinct russets. The first thing he noticed was the likeness of the piece that hung off the bottom to his own tail, and a second later realization struck him. Its stomach was a cream color and the tips of its paws, ears, and tail where a deep brownish maroon. Held in Judy's small, grey paws was a stuffed fox almost as large as her entire torso.

Nick's jaw slackened as he stared at the stuffed animal in her grasp. There was no mistaking or confusing it, that was a fox through and through. It even bore striking resemblance to him right down to the two green buttons sewn in place of the eyes. What was more surprising that the near perfect match to the pattern of his fur, was the fact that it was completely naked save for a golden sticker…

The fox's mouth ran dry as his vision was fixed onto the shining gold badge that was stuck to the front of the fox's chest. It was creased and crumpled beyond belief, and it almost looked like she had balled it up before… Nick's paw rose up hesitantly, pointing at the sticker as his face flashed a multitude of different emotions ranging from confusion to downright awe. "Is…" he said, his voice trailing off before he swallowed the lump in his throat. "Is this the sticker that I threw away at the press conference?" His voice was calm and steady, but it wavered just enough to generate a reaction from the bunny, who smiled at him as she started making her way slowly back to the bed.

"Yeah…" she said breathily, looking down at the top of the stuffed fox before climbing back up onto the bed with him. When she thumped back down into her spot, she readjusted the blankets to fall over both her and the stuffed animal that she had resting in her lap. They sat in silence for a moment, a fox and a bunny sitting side-by-side on Christmas Eve, both holding stuffed animals of each other's species. If Nick wasn't already pretty far into his alcohol, he might have thought it was weird. Instead, he held no such opinion, and even believed that it felt _right_.

"I, uh…" Judy said, breaking the silence between them. Glancing over to her, he watched her brow furrow as she looked at the stuffed fox. Finally, she met his gaze and took a deep breath to prepare herself. "When you left, I was really torn up about the whole thing." Judy looked away again, bringing up a paw to gently run over the shiny gold sticker on the front of the fox's chest, nestled comfortably on in the bushy cream colored fur. "I kept the sticker just because I didn't know what else to do with it, and after a couple weeks, I went out and bought a stuffed fox to put it on."

Nick carefully traded his vision between the fox facsimile and her eyes, wrapping his head around the words that were coming out of her mouth. "You…" he said, tilting his head and leaning forward so that he was almost looking right into her eyes. "Had this before you came back to apologize?"

She gave him a sheepish smile, her paw coming back up to play with the hem of his beanie. Unable to maintain their connection, she looked around the apartment anywhere he wasn't, her nose beginning to twitch again. "I would look at it after a long shift and think about how much worse the city was getting," she whispered solemnly. "I would try to come up with some kind of explanation and talk to it, try to absolve myself of the guilt." She fell into silence for awhile, staring off to some faraway point with glazed eyes. Nick just studied her features, giving her the time she needed.

Finally, she looked up into his eyes with a sad expression, her brow furrowed and nose twitching. "It didn't really work," she said, searching his eyes for some kind of answer to her problems. As if she found what she was looking for, she looked away again, pulling the stuffed animal closer to her chest. "And when I went back home, I took it with me."

For a long few seconds, Nick just stared at her blankly, his mind going in a million different directions at once. In an instant, however, his thoughts came to an abrupt halt when a certain memory came to mind. "That thing…" he said, his voice trailing off into nothing as his brows knit together low on his forehead. "That thing that you got Hare to hide in your room the night I drove you back to Bunnyburrow…" _That_ caught Judy's attention, and she met his exasperated gaze with one of coy embarrassment, an apologetic smile sliding up her face. " _That_ was what I smelled? _Myself_?"

Shrugging her shoulders, she fought to find something to say, but came up with nothing. Instead, Judy just watched the several different emotions flash across his face, trying to see his thoughts through his eyes. When his face settled back on exasperation, she pulled back into herself, glowering down at the stuffed fox. "I knew it," she said breathily, sighing loudly. "You think it's weird."

Nick did not even hear her words, as he was too busy trying to capture the thoughts running through his mind like fireflies, desperately trying to hold them down to get a handle on his whirlwind of emotions. He was confused, elated, and stunned all at the same time. Slowly, one thought emerged from all the rest, and his eyes trailed down to the crumpled up sticker, his eyes glazing over. "I…" he said, the word coming out in an uncertain huff. "I thought it was gone forever…"

Judy's frown dissolved in the time it took for her to look up at him. "What?"

A moment of silence passed between them. "The sticker," he replied, taking one of his paws off the stuffed rabbit in his grasp to run two padded fingers across the creased paper over the fox's heart. The doe watched his movement intently, the twitch in her nose slowing to be few and far between. "After I soaked my head in some cold water, the outline of the sticker was still on my shirt, and…" Nick's voice trailed off into the cold air of the apartment, and his green eyes snapped up to meet her purple ones. She was staring at him more hopefully now, her face having returned to its drowsy inebriation, and it made the fox smile at her. "Thank you."

A warm smile crept up here muzzle as she sheepily met his gaze, having to look away when a bashful feel came to her. Nick watched her play with the hem of his beanie for a moment, seeing how her eyes had lit up so much with just two simple words. It was all he could do not to chuckle at how obvious her feelings were on her features, and marvel at how her eyes sparkled in relief. There was not many things that could bring a genuine smile to his face, even to this day, but one of them would probably _always_ be that moment when Judy discovered that she never had anything to worry about in the first place.

Looking back down at the stuffed rabbit in his paws, he couldn't get over how much it probably meant to her, yet she was still handing it over so easily to him. The fact that she trusted him with something so dear to her heart caused a flutter of that same feeling, this time less constricting and more intoxicating; it him feel light headed. "Honestly," he said with a light chuckle, capturing the doe's attention. "I am going to have to hide this in my footlocker so none of the other cadets will see it - I am not going to lie to you about that - but I will look at it all the time." The fox looked up to give the bunny a reassuring smile.

He held the stuffed bunny up into the air, pivoting it so that it would face its living counterpart. "At least now," he said in an amused tone, wiggling his eyebrows. "Every time you get put on the late shift, I'll have something to tide me over until my next dose of your _poisonous_ enthusiasm."

Judy snorted exaggeratedly, scrunching up her nose as a toothy smile split her face, revealing to him her enormous buck teeth. They shared a small laugh, both turning back to look at their respective stuffed animals with similar looks of deep thought. The bunny was the one to break the silence, her voice unsure and laced with apprehension. "So you really don't think it's weird?" she asked, looking at him through the corner of her eye.

"I feel like I've answered that question before," he replied dryly, keeping his gaze fixed on the golden sticker on the front of the rabbit's chest.

"I know, I just…" The way her breath hitched in her throat made Nick glance up at her, seeing thats he was again staring off into space with her lips pursed. Feeling his gaze on her, she made a frustrated noise and sighed, the beanie on her head drooping on the back of her head as her ears lost their strength. "I'm not trying to put you in a corner," she said, meeting his gaze. "I'm still new to this 'being best friends with a fox' thing, and online forums about vulpine culture only takes you _so_ far."

The matter-of-fact way that she had finished that thought made his brow furrow. Tilting his head to the side with narrowed eyes, he tried to concentrate on whether or not he had heard her right. To the doe's credit, she just stared at him blankly, as if what she had just said wasn't the dumbfounding words that they were. "You were reading…" he said, his voice trailing off. Judy just cocked an eyebrow at him, and he honestly couldn't tell that she was challenging him to calling her out or if she was legitimately confused about what he was asking. Shutting his eyes tight, he waved a dismissive paw through the air "Nevermind."

Nick spent another few moments staring at the stuffed bunny in his paws, chewing on the inside of his lip. He was legitimately worried now. How was he supposed to follow her giving him something not only close to her heart, but almost monumental and entirely _life-changing_? Nick frowned at the bunny in thought, and wished for the upteenth time that he had been able to come up with some gift that was from the heart.

"This is a hard one to follow," he finally said, breaking the lingering silence between them. Carefully, he placed the stuffed rabbit to sit comfortable between them, leaned up against the wall the same as they were and looked up into her eyes. "So let me just prepare you for the letdown."

Her brow furrowed and her mouth opened to express her confusion, but before she could, Nick leaned down and grabbed another present. It was a quick motion, but it was evidently purposeful. The box he had gone fro was the second smallest one, resting comfortable on the far end of the diminishing pile. When he straightened back up against the wall, he stared it a quick glance before hurriedly handing ito over to Judy, not wanting to build it up any more than he absolutely had to. She took it without question, and after she gave him a warm smile that still displayed signs of her confusion, she began taking the wrapping off.

It was honestly painful how slowly she opened her presents, plucking at the tape with her dull claws as to not rip the paper. This time she thankfully didn't open it all the way, and instead just stuck her paw into the wrapping after successfully unfastening a single side. Still very carefully, she slide the cardboard box out of the paper and turned it over in her paws. Flinging the still mostly done wrapping over Nick and onto their accumulating pile of paper, she found the lid with her other paw and opened it. Inside, pushed into a nest of shredded cardboard, was a hard plastic clamshell case.

With her brow knitting together, Judy lifted the plastic case out of the box and grabbed hold of his with both paws, abandoning the packaging on her lap. She looked up at Nick for a brief moment, and with a reassuring nod from the fox, she flipped the lip open. Inside, she was met with two copies of her own face on a pair of highly reflective lenses, shaped to look like two two rounded triangles with two bars on the bridge of the nose connecting them together. "Sunglasses?" she asked, picking them up as if she would break them. They were a pair of aviators, though they were slightly off.

Realization struck her a moment later, and she looked up at him with raised eyebrows. "Hey, these are the same pair that you got at the store before you left, aren't they?"

Nick chuckled. "Well," he said, sticking his paw into the collar of his shirt to go fishing for something. "I still have those." When his paw came back into view, he was holding onto a pair of identical, albeit slightly larger, aviators. With a toothy grin, he flicked them open with a flourish from his wrist and dropped them down onto his muzzle in one fluid motion. Nick raised his own brows, coming into view over the top of his shades. "See?"

As Judy smiled up at him, he took the opportunity to tap one of his fingers on the top of her present, getting her to look back down at them. "You've been a cop for almost half a year now, Fluff," he said airily. "And you still don't own a pair of these bad boys?" The doe snorted in amusement, but that did not stop him from continuing, deathly serious. "I thought it was my _duty_ to get them for you, just to make sure you look every bit the cop that you are." As she was opening up the pair of sunglasses, he urged her to try them on, and much to his relief, they fit rather nicely. "And guess what?" he asked, causing her to turn to him, reflecting his own image back at him as he gave her a huge, toothy smile. "Now we match."

The doe giggled at her reflection, an enormous smile reaching all the way up to her eyes as she took the pair off to study them. Besides the size of the lenses, the only other different was the type of ear pieces they had, which were strangle mismatched in both color of black and material. "The one's you bought were specifically for canines," she said, recalling the trip to the grocery store where Nick had found his pair. "Where did you even find a pair of bunny aviators? I have never seen them before."

Nick hummed happily at her, taking his own pair off and sliding them on the collar of his sweater. "Special order," he replied, following her gaze down to the sunglasses in her paws. "Sorta." She looked up at him expectantly, urging him to continue, and he just smiled and tapped the earpieces lazily. "I bought the smallest pair they had, and then I found a pair of bunny shades," he explained, gazing at the slightly modified hinges. "I spliced the lenses with the ear pieces, and let me tell you, it was not easy to find a compatible set."

Smiling even wider at the fact that he had gone through all the trouble, she put them back on and gave her best stern expression, glowering at him playfully with her jaw pushed slightly forward. Nick chuckled at her attempt, causing her to fall into another spout of drunken giggles. Sighing, she took them off again and looked at them warmly. "To be honest, I haven't worn shades very often," she admitted, meeting his gaze with tentative eyes. "My eyes are not as sensitive as yours, and there are a lot of times that I think shades would effectively blind me even during daytime, but I love them. I'll definitely use them when it's really sunny."

"That's all I ask, Carrots," Nick said, waving his paw dismissively through the air.

A moment passes as Judy studied the pile of presents before them, chewing her bottom lip in thought. Carefully placing her shades over with her new pawguards, she leaned back down and retrieved her second to last present. The bunny was apprehensive again. Even though he had liked every one of her prior gifts, she could not help but feel a little unsure about herself, and Nick took careful note of it. As if she had realized that she was stalling, she lamely passed the present over to him. "Here you go."

Nick cocked an eyebrow at her, taking the present firmly as he knew it to be the heaviest one. Without ceremony, he plucked the bow off the red packaging. Only this time, he stuck it on top of the stuffed rabbit. "Getting down to the last couple, are we?" he said with a lazy, lidded smirk, glancing at her through the corner of his eyes as he tore the rest of the paper off. "If you've saved the best for last, I honestly couldn't guess what this is."

She gave him a sheepish grin, her buck teeth barely peeking through. "I hope you won't mind," the doe replied, looking at him through her brow.

The fox's brow rose up to meet the other one high on his forehead, turning his head fully to get a better look at her. "Mind?" he asked, getting nothing but a shrug from the rabbit in question. With growing interest, he spent little time in tearing the wrapping off, revealing a glossy, cardboard package underneath. It was sleek in its design, a single shade of dark grey with minimalistic information. In the center of the almost box was a Sealsung logo, followed closely by the model name Galaxy S7 just underneath.

Nick's eyes shot up to look at Judy, his jaw slightly slack as he held the box in his paws. "A phone? You got me a phone?"

Nodding at him eagerly, she tried her best to look sure of herself, pointing at the package. "It's already activated," she said, looking back up into his eyes. Nick's eyes darted back to the box and started trying to discern how to open it. Upon seeing the lid's tape had already been split, he pulled open the cardboard and stuck his paws into the simple packaging, pulling out a smaller cardboard piece that held the phone in place. It was black and rounded on the edges, with silver accents on the buttons and a black, glossy screen. Carefully, Nick pulled it out of the packaging and turned it around in his paws, feeling the textured back and weight.

"It's charged," she said, watching him study the phone. "So go ahead and turn it on."

Nick cocked an eyebrow at her again, and after glancing around the edges of the phone, he found he found what he thought to be the power button. He only tapped it once, but that was enough to bring the electronic device to life, the screen lighting up and casting both of the mammal's shadows up onto the wall behind them. There was a long moment of silence as Nick's mind tried to recover from what immediately assaulted his eyes. He had expected some kind of generic wallpaper or even just a blank screen, but what he saw was much, much different, and he couldn't help the involuntary scoff that escaped his parted lips.

The wallpaper was a selfie, but it wasn't just _any_ selfie. It was the one that he seemed unable to escape from, no matter how much time or other memories passed. Judy was smiling up at the camera with her ears parted comically by a slumbering fox, whose chin was draped over her head. His tongue was slightly sticking out of his mouth as he slept in the strange position, and Judy's head and arm were the only thing that could be seen, as she was poking out from under his shoulder, the rest of his arms wrapped around her and concealing her body from sight. Around them was piles and bales of straw, tied together by rope.

"Oh," Nick whispered, shaking his head in disbelief. "You are _evil_."

Judy giggled breathily at that, but she did not respond directly to his incredulous remark. "I put my number in it," she said, bringing up her paw to tap the contacts button on the touchscreen, ushering a list of three measly numbers: Judy's cell, Precinct One, and the pizza place down the street. Nick tore his eyes from the screen to look at the bunny beside him, who had leaned even further towards him to peer at the screen herself. Feeling his eyes on her, she glanced up at him with a soft smile. "I know how you really don't like the payphones at the academy, so I thought you could use something more your size."

Silence quickly enveloped the pair of mammals that sat a little too close together, and Nick quickly scrolled through a few different screens on the phone. While it may have been true he did not own much technology in his young and subsequent life on the streets, he was by no means a stranger to it. It took him barely a few seconds before he had a firm grasp on how to use all of the features, but as he did a nagging feels was beginning to form in his stomach. The fox knew quite well that this model was not cheap by any stretch. He had looked at the very same phone not a couple weeks before, wondering if he should bite the bullet himself and buy one. It seemed that Judy had beat him to it.

"This way," Judy said, breaking the silence that hung in the air, and causing the fox to look over to her from the corner of his eye. "We can not only talk to each other every night, but we can text, send each other pictures, and most importantly of all…" She looked up at him with a wide, toothy smile, her eyes sparkling in excitement as she did not even try to contain it. "Muzzletime!" she exclaimed, throwing both of her paws up into the air like it was some kind of bombshell, making Nick chuckle. Watching him settle down from his breaths of amusement, she continued to stare into his eyes. "That way we won't just have to settle for just our voices."

Turning his whole head to smile at her, that nagging feeling grew again. In a brief moment, his brow furrowed and he looked back down at the phone, studying the accursed selfie that she had set as his wallpaper. "You said it was activated?" he asked, sparing her a worried glance.

Judy's enormous smile fell completely in a flash, and she glowered at him as she puffed out her cheeks. "Don't you _dare_ , Nicholas Wilde!" she said, sticking on of her fingers harshly into his side. Jerking back from her assault, he rubbed the point in his ribs where she had poked him, surprised that it actually hurt. "It's worth _every_ penny if it means I can talk to you muzzle-to-muzzle all the time." Just as fast as her smile was gone, it was back again, and she beamed at him, returning to her overly excited jubilance. "We can text in our spare time, too!" she chirped, bouncing lightly in place with pure joy.

The way that she was acting made Nick's apprehension melt away in a heartbeat, and all that was left was amusement. "It's almost like you can't go ten minutes without talking to me," he joked, though he was probably equally happy that he would get to see her face more, though he would not show it. Waving his paw through the air dismissively, he continued. "You won't hear me complaining, but don't you have _other_ friends you can bother all the time?"

Nick's amused smirk fell away when a small grey paw shot up to hover just in front of the tip of his snout, a single finger held up into his vision. "Ah-ah- _ah_ ," she warned, moving the finger back and forth in the forefront of his vision. Nick looked at her over the outstretched paw dubiously, seeing Judy's warm but firm expression. "None of that, Slick. Since I am paying for that phone, you _will_ be replying to _every single one_ of my texts." She retracted her paw only so far as she needed to point directly at him, flashing a wicked grin with lidded eyes. "It's the least you could do."

Cocking an eyebrow, Nick's amused smile slowly started reaching back up his muzzle. "Oh?" he asked in a droning tone, leaning slightly forward. "So _that's_ how it is, is it?"

"Yup," she said triumphantly, crossing her arms over the stuffed fox still resting in her lap, and smiling broadly up at him. Judy made a quick nod of confirmation and allowed her flush of intoxication back into her features. "Best friends should not be relegated to the availability of public payphones. When you come back home, I want to be able to text you and tell you anything else I might have forgotten before you left to go to the grocery store or anything like that."

A breath of mirth escaped him again as he scrutinized her victorious expression. "So what you're say is this is all for you?" he asked, raising the phone into the air between them and shaking it about. Her expression did not shift in the slightest at his accusation, and remaining perfectly content with her assertion even when he pointed at her with an accusatory finger. "It's so _you_ can text me, _you_ can tell me what to do, and for _you_ to Muzzletime me whenever you want?"

Judy nodded, her smile growing even wider. "That's exactly right."

Nick scoffed, though a large smile slide up his long muzzle as he turned back to look at the phone. "How selfish."

"Don't act like you aren't excited," she said, hugging the stuffed fox tighter as she lifted only her wrist to point at him. " _You've_ been the one that had to call me for so long now. It's only fair that I get to be the selfish one can call _you_ once in awhile." Nick hummed at that, continuing his probe into the cellphone's features. Besides the wallpaper and a few contacts, it was practically right off the shelf. "And don't you dare change the ringtone I set for myself." _That_ got the fox's attention, and he glanced up from the phone with an air of incredulousness.

She was beaming at him again, this time with seriousness imbued throughout. Nick cocked an eyebrow. "Do I even want to know?"

Humming, she tapped her chin in thought, glancing up to the ceiling as if it held the answer. It was not long before she halted her playful display, and met his gaze with a lidded, smarmy grin, finger still resting on her chin. When she broke the silence, she did so in a low, purring tone that made Nick's ears swivel backwards. "Wouldn't it be nice to leave it as a _surprise_?" she asked, coating her words in as much honey as she could.

To his credit, he was able to stop his snout from scrunching up on his face, and held her gaze without flinching. After a long moment of searching her eyes, he straightened out again, glaring at her through the corner of his eye with a tacit warning. "Depends on when you choose to surprise me," he said plainly, eliciting a few soft giggles from the buzzed rabbit. Without waiting for her to recover, he continued. "If I find out back in the academy that you set it as a Gazelle song while I'm with all the other cadets, I'll never forgive you."

That sent her into another wave of giggles, trying hard to suppress the amusement only for it to backfire at the very thought of Nick in a room with all of the larger, mostly predatory cadets and a Gazelle song blaring out of his pocket. As serious as Nick was trying to be, he was powerless to stop his own smile reaching up his muzzle. Finally, she recovered from the breathy laughter and gave him another toothy smile, tilting her head upwards so she could look at him down her short snout with lidded eyes."I think you might be able to find room for it in your heart," she said bewitchingly.

It was all he could do to force his smile away before she looked back at him, and it was even more difficult to maintain the expression. However, he was finally able to win over the fight against the genuine smile that threatened his features, and responded with a quick shot of air through his snout and into her face. No amount of fighting would hold back the hearty chuckle that came from the way she reeled back, blinking and completely flustered by the short burst. "We'll see," he said in a droning tone, exaggerating his lip movements to flash his canines, which caused the bunny's nose to twitch and her eyes to flicker downwards.

Nick turned his attention back to the phone, staring at the selfie that had haunted him for several months now. The self-assured grin that captures his features taped down in intensity, slowing being replaced by the soft touch of genuine contentedness. If he was being honest, the fox would admit to actually liking the photo. Perhaps the way his tongue stuck out of the tip of his muzzle in gentle slumber wasn't exactly flattering, but he was hard pressed to come up with an actual reason to hate it. Something about the thought of Judy waking up first and not immediately recoiling from that spot in his arms made his brow knit with that same feeling bubbling back up.

During the missing mammal's case and even the day she came back, Nick was still that same fox, stalking the streets for easy targets. He woke up the morning before Judy came back as a bitter, spiteful vulpine, still clinging to all of the years that had shaped him, but that was the _last_ morning. Over that single day, something changed inside of him, and when he snuggled up next to the rabbit that had brought about that change, he wasn't that fox anymore. The selfie in front of his eyes was of the first morning that he was a new mammal, and it just felt so _right_ that it was with her by his side.

Feeling a pair of beautiful, lavender eyes on him, he glanced up to meet her gaze. Judy was staring at him with lidded, though strikingly sober, eyes, her lips barely parted as she searched his features, and just like that, his mask just melted away. The muscles on his face that seemed to always just keep the slightest tension relaxed, and his ears, which had been standing in perfect alertness, swiveled back into a comfortable rest on his head. The contentedness on his lips did not have to physically move much to convey the legitimate happiness that radiated from his chest, but even that slightest movement seemed like the longest journey of his life.

She matched his smile the best she could, but he could tell that she was taken aback by the expression he wore. With just a few twitches of her nose, she recovered, and offered him one of the warmest smiles that he had ever seen. Silence hung around them for what felt like a long time, the air between their bodies pregnant with the feelings that neither of them could adequately put into words, and Nick again felt that very same ache permeate from his chest, this time originating a fair bit higher than his stomach. There grew between them a reluctant acceptance that they had to move on, and Judy looked back down to the top of the stuffed fox, her lips still curled upwards in happiness.

It was all he could do to tear his eyes away from her, setting the phone softly down next to his box of carrot themed clothing. Nick's eyes eventually fell onto the pile that was all but diminished, three simple boxes sitting comfortably in a haphazard pile; one of them was Judy's and the other two were his. Leaving the smallest of his two where it was, he retrieved his second to last present. Lighter than all of the others, it felt like it was completely empty in his paw as he passed it over to the bunny beside him. "Here you go," he said with an unusually breathy tone.

Judy smiled at him as she took it, beginning immediately to unravel the colorful paper enclosement. Unlike all of the others, it was also the most poorly wrapped, the corners and ends creased and wrinkled from several attempts. The present in her tiny paws was the only one he had wrapped himself, and it showed. However, Judy either did not notice or did not care, as she offered it the same care and attention of being careful as all the one prior, pulling a simple cardboard box out of the folded piece of paper. With a soft movement, she tossed the still intact paper over him to land on their pile while turning the cardboard over in her other paw.

She used her dull claw to pluck the scotch tape away, finally freeing the lip to reveal to contents. What she saw only made her cock an eyebrow, though, as it was almost entirely filled with packing paper save for a neat, blush envelope that rested on the top. Judy glanced up at the fox, who had been watching intently from his position. "An envelope?" she asked, capturing his gaze.

Nick nodded lightly, rolling his head around his shoulders with a small shrug. "You might have been able to guess if it was just on its own," he said. When she just quirked her head at him, he gestured with his long snout towards the box in her paws. "Go ahead and open it."

Turing the envelope around to study the front, the only addition to the plain, blush material was the word 'Carrots' drawn out in perfect calligraphy. Curiosity taking over, Judy thumbed the contents over before ripping the side clean off, using the edge of the thick paper within as a guide. The piece of the envelope that had been ripped off was quickly discarded with the rest of the scrap paper, and she slid the stiff cardstock out easily.

It was an off-white card with a cartoonish carrot on the front, hanging over the caption 'I bet you thought I didn't carrot all'. Judy's brow immediately furrowed and she shot up an incredulous look at the smug fox sitting next to her. When all he offered her was a playful wiggle of his eyebrows, she snorted, both in barely concealed amusement and disbelief. Nick chuckled along with her. He had spent some time glowering over a card aisle in a supermarket near the academy, and it was difficult to find one that was a good fit for both of them. Despite himself, he was pretty proud of the terrible pun he had found, having spent not a single moment of deliberation after discovering it.

Maintaining her forced glare for a moment longer, Judy finally turned back to the card in her paws. She hesitated for just a moment as she tried to guess what it could be, but having no such revelation, the doe simple resigned herself to opening it. Initially, there was almost no reaction. The only discernible shift in her expression was a slight twitch in her brow, which could not even become a full furrow before her entire body locked up in surprised. Sitting right on the open page of the card, just next to a pawwritten note that read 'But I was secretly rooting that you did', were two small pieces of specialty paper.

They weren't blank, though, as both of them were a greyish blue with a yellow stripe down one side. There was even deep, black lettering printed on both of them; information, names, dates, and times were clearly marked between dotted tear lines. They were tickets, but they weren't just any tickets either. The aforementioned date was only a few days after Nick's graduation from the police academy, and the location was clearly printed out to read 'Zootennial Stadium', which was not far from where the pair of mismatched mammals sat, quietly studying the two pieces of paper that rested in the card.

The information that struck the doe speechless, however, was right in the center of the ticket. It was one name, 'Gazelle'. Finally, Judy sucked in a breath as her shoulders pulled up tight, her amethyst eyes growing to the size of dinner plates while a single, quivering paw rose up to cover her parted lips. For a long moment, she stared at the tickets, dumbstruck. Eventually, though, her wide eyes snapped up to meet the fox's calm gaze, blinking at him. With just as much force, her head whipped back around to stare at the tickets, and after placing the card down gingerly, she retrieved the two tickets and held them in her paw.

"Oh my cheese and crackers…" she said, her voice trailing off into the cold air of the apartment. Judy's eyes snapped back up to Nick in uncontained astonishment, her nose twitching rapidly on the forefront of her small, fuzzy face. The fox just curled one side of his muzzle up in a self-satisfactory grin, gazing into her eyes with unrestrained pride at her reaction. "Nick…" she whispered, sounding even more breathy and bewildered than before. "How?"

The fox just made a lazy shrug, his lidded smirk widening at her searching, dazzled eyes. The ecstatic glee was just starting to sink in, and her purple eyes started to sparkle in the dim light of the apartment. "I know a guy."

She looked back down at the tickets, finally taking her paw off her lips to grasp the tickets with both of them. Raising them up to the small space between them, her brow furrowed in the shock that still ran through her body, still not completely sure it was real. "But these are like almost _three hundred_ dollars each!" she exclaimed, waving them around his in front of his long, pointed snout. Nick just smiled wider and watched her reaction with lidded eyes. "How could you afford them?"

Nodding his head slowly and pursing his lips, he leaned backwards into the wall, giving himself enough space to look directly at the doe beside him. "He's a scalper, so you might have to take a shower to wash off the guilt," he said, folding his paws together over the hole in his sweater. The second collar in the middle of the sweater was doing him no favors in the chilly atmosphere, and all of the heat created by cooking had all but vanished. It was beginning to feel like the weather was affecting him more and more. The temperature around them would be nothing to the old Nick, but with such a source of warmth just out of reach, the cold was more than apparent. "But I got them on a discount."

Judy gazed at him expectantly, urging him silently to continue. Bringing up a paw to comb his claws lazily through the cream colored fur of his neck, the fox shrugged. "He owed me a couple favors from back in the day, so I got them for almost nothing." Immediately after saying that, though, his eyes snapped upwards as if to gaze up into his own mind. "Well," he drawled, rolling his head around on his shoulders and weaving his paws back together on his chest. "It was still like two hundred bucks to get them both, but that's almost nothing compared to the outrageous amount anyone else is charging."

Before he could so much a prepare for the impact, the doe had shot up from her position and barreled into his side, the blankets bursting up in her wake and the faux fox falling limply onto the stuffed rabbit's lap. "Thank you," she squealed into his side, and Nick could feel the smile on her face without even having to look. "Thank you, thank you, _thank you_!" She was so filled with excitement that she continued to scramble into him, pushing furrows into the sheets as she desperately tried to burrow into his side, inevitably toppling him over with a soft cry of surprise escaping the fox's parted maw.

Yelping as he was pushed over, Nick was just able to twist in his fall and swing his paws upwards, landing with a small bounce on Judy's mattress with the doe in question sprawled out on his chest, gripping his ribcage with both arms. "Ah!" he cried, ripped and perfectly folded paper flying up on both sides from where he fell, which was right into their pile of trash. "Okay!" Bewildered, Nick looked down at the bunny, seeing that she had stuck her face backwards into the second collar, burrowing her nose into his clothes so that all he could see was his crimson beanie. Chuckling as he pulled himself up on his elbows, he looked down at the rabbit fondly. "You're welcome," he said in droned down at her, his voice a low rumble from his chest.

Upon hearing his voice, she just shook her face to and fro, burying herself further into the sweater and pushing her nose hard into his chest. The clear smile on her muzzle was apparent even through two layers of clothing and a tie, and her hot breath snaking through his fur underneath almost instantly demolished the chills that were present just a moment prior. Watching the top of his beanie for a moment, his eyes raised over the top of her head to trail down her back. "Don't take it to mean I am a package deal with those things, though," he said quietly. "You can take whoever you want."

The grip she had on him loosened, and Judy's grey paws came around to be planted right on his chest. Pushing herself out of the second collar of his sweater, she looked at him hopefully, the excitement she was feeling crinkling her the corners of her eyes. The doe was straddled over his midsection, paws close together on his chest propping her up. When an enormous smile cracked up her features, nose twitching on the forefront of her face, Nick cocked an eyebrow at her. "Does that mean you'll go with me?" she said, practically squealing as she bounced up and down on his chest.

A quick shot of air escaped the end of Nick's snout, and he allowed his neck to go limp, making his head fall loudly into a crumpled up piece of wrapping paper. With a dramatic sigh, he waved his paw through the air and shut his eyes. "If I must," he replied with no small amount of mock depression in his tone, accompanying another dramatic sigh. Nick was sorely unprepared, however, for the delighted squeak that escaped the bunny on top of him, making his ears swivel backwards. A second later, the paws propping her up were gone, and she fell right back into the strong hug, knocking the wind out of the fox.

Releasing a pained whine, Nick tried to prop himself back up on his elbows only to find that she had grappled one of his arms in her embrace. Instead, he just tilted his head as far down it would go, peering back down at the rabbit buried in his sweater. "I think I got it, Fluff," he said, chuckling as he brought his only free paw up to pat her on the top of the head. "I'm the best gift-giver that there ever was. You don't need to repeat what I've known from the start." A muffled giggle escaped her mouth, and the hot breath sent a shiver down the fox's spine. "Now get off me before you crush my chest cavity."

Instead to listening to his command, she just hugged him tighter, pushing her nose further into his chest. It quickly became apparent that she was squeezing harder and harder, and just as the fox was about to puff out a breath of discomfort, she let her arms go slack. With a sheepish smile, she pushed herself back up on his chest all the way into a sitting position. Nick still remained where he was, sprawled out on the bed with the bunny straddling his midsection, and smiled up at her lazily.

Her eyes were still sparkling with excitement when she brought both of her paws up in front of her, still holding onto the two tickets. "Oh my carrots," she said happily, a smile splitting her face from ear to ear. Looking down at him with wide, earnest eyes, she adjusted the beanie on the top of her head as she searched his lidded eyes. "This is the best Christmas _ever_! I don't even know what to say!"

Nick cocked a brow, pushing himself up onto his elbows now that he had both arms. "You could start with 'you are the best mammal I have ever known and I would be lost without you'," he suggested, a self-satisfactory grin creeping up his long muzzle. "That _might_ begin to let me know how grateful you are."

Snorting, Judy booped the fox in front of her on the nose, smiling widely at him. "I'll think about it, Slick," she said, beginning her retreat back into her spot, much to Nick's disappointment. When she was finally off him, he came very aware that the feeling that had been bubbling up inside of him had all but spread throughout his entire body without him knowing, and as soon as her gentle touch was gone it soured into an ache that made his ear twitch. His face remained calm and steady, though, as he, in like fashion, pushed himself back up into his spot. A piece of paper that had stuck to the back of his neck dropped back into the pile as he went.

When they were both back into their respective spots on the bed, Nick noticed that they were just a hair closer than they were before. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched her study the measly pile of two remaining presents, biting her lip in thought. The doe was completely exposed to the atmosphere now, having apparently not ordained it necessary to retrieve the blanket she was using. After a moment of deliberation, he flicked his tail in a way that could be seen as accidental, landing right on top of her exposed hind paws. Feigning like he hadn't noticed, he ran his claws through the cream colored fur of his neck, only seeing the warm smile that she had directed his way through the very edge of his vision.

Judy was the one to break the silence. "Last two, huh?" she asked, giving him a timid, sideways look.

Nick followed the direction her head was pointing to the only remaining boxes at the end of the bed. For Nick, Judy had saved an incredibly flat present that was only slightly bigger than a stack of papers. For Judy, Nick had saved a small box wrapped in plain red paper with a gleaming golden bow resting atop it. "Looks that way."

Silence hung in the air between them as they stared at the two boxes, lost in their own thoughts. In many ways, Nick was beyond relieved that she had enjoyed her gifts up until that point. Still, the nagging feeling that it was nothing but a flaunt of cash persisted. Going into the holiday, he had spent quite a bit of time brainstorming about the perfect gift, but it never bore any fruit. By the time Christmas had finally rolled around, he had gotten three gifts that amounted to only a little over eighty dollars, and none of them seemed appropriate as _the_ gift. The fox knew that the bunny beside him cared about more than just money, yet it seemed like that was all he could offer.

As if aware of his troubled internal debate, Judy glanced over to him, flashing a soft grin that proudly displayed her buck teeth behind her lips. She had pulled her elbows close to her chest, her small, grey paws flat against the mattress. "I was actually hoping that I'd get something made from noodles and glue," she said, capturing Nick's attention. "I mean, the way you said it..."

An amused smile slid over the fox's features, and he hummed at her. "I'll put that on the list for next year," he replied. "Maybe even your birthday if you're lucky."

Judy's grin grew twice as large as she giggled, the breathy sound sending waves of that same feeling through the fox's body, matching the tempo of her breaths of mirth. Nick's features relaxed again, losing the hard edge of the mask for what felt like the millionth time, and he watched her for a moment. When she was done giggling, she sighed contentedly, glancing back over to the last two presents with lidded eyes. "You shouldn't have made our first Christmas so special," she whispered, meeting his gaze warmly. "Because now you're going to have to top it next year. I don't think you can top this, Slick."

Scoffing, Nick shook his head slowly at the doe beside him, narrowing his eyes at her. "We're not even done yet, Fluff," he said with a light chuckle in his voice. For a moment, he basked in the warmth that her soft smile brought, wallowing in her presence. He was not even slightly concerned for the future outside the walls of the freezing apartment, and found no desire to dwell on it now. Waving his paw out in front of them, he tilted his head. "Save the doom and gloom of peaking on our first holiday for after you're done enjoying _this_ one."

Letting out a quick breath of mirth, the doe beside him just nodded approvingly. Leaning forward with her head still turned towards him, she gave him one final close-mouthed smile before reaching out to retrieve her final gift. Judy picked it up carefully, handling it like it was as delicate and fragile as a newborn kit, and gazed at it with such a raw mixture of uncertainty and hope that it made the fox quirk an eyebrow. Straightening out slowly, her back came back up against the wall as she pulled the present into her lap, chewing on her bottom lip all the while.

Suddenly, she handed it over, refusing to let go until Nick had a firm grasp on the box. Judy wouldn't meet his eyes as he pulled the paper off, growing so curious he did not even take the box off of it before tearing it open. His eyes snapped down when he was down, scrutinizing the simple cardboard container for any markings or tells as to what it could be. Having no such luck, he flipped the lid off, revealing a plain, mahogany picture frame. Sleek and rich in its dark brown color, the light of the Christmas tree reflected off the spotless glass from across the room.

Set into the frame was a crisp, digital picture that he knew _very_ well. It was a selfie of him and Judy, sitting comfortably together under a thick cotton blanket, framed on all sides by a mountain of bound hay bales. It was that _same_ picture, and now it wasn't just an image on a glowing screen, it was real. Slowly retrieving the frame from the box, he stared at the image, completely dumbstruck much to the rabbit's amusement. Something about seeing the image printed on a real piece of paper made a feeling stir inside of him. It was like it had a kind of extra weight to it, as if it was somehow more _real_.

That wasn't it, though. Written on the glass, in dark, permanent marker, were the words 'To my best friend in the whole wide world. - _Your_ Carrots'. Nick blinked at the message, and suddenly it was like his entire body had run dry. From the roof of his mouth to the tips of his lungs, he felt like he was breathing in coarse sand. Lamely, his tongue work without success to quell the cottony dryness. ' _Your_ Carrots'. It was such a simple word, yet it had ground his mind to a halt so quick it was astounding, and with the attempted recovery came that same aching feeling that reached up from his stomach and constricted his heart.

In an effort to mask his whirlwind of emotions, he forced a dry chuckle out of his chest, shaking his long muzzle as he looked up at the bunny beside him. "I am never going to be able to get away from this stupid picture, am I?"

Judy scoffed, turning her nose up and away so that she was looking at him sideways. "I don't know why you hate it so much," she replied with a soft pout. When all Nick did was cock his brow and stare at her closer, she crossed her arms over her chest defiantly and harrumphed. "It's my favorite one of us."

Raising both of his eyebrows, he tilted the picture frame around to face her, tapping one of his claws against the glass. "So I have to be unconscious for a picture of us to come out to your liking?" he inquired.

Clicking her tongue, she shook her head deliberately at him, narrowing her lavender eyes. "I like _all_ of the pictures of us," she defended, shoving an accusatory paw into his bicep. When she pulled away, her soft smile returned, and she looked down fondly at the picture in his grasp. "And no, I just like this one because it was such a big moment. We had such a rough time the day before, and we made it through to the other end relatively unscathed. It's up there with my graduation photo and some of the pictures with my family. It's like our very own victory lap." After she was done, her eyes snapped up to meet his with an impish grin. "That and I just think you look real cute when you're asleep."

Nick scoffed loudly, pulling the picture away from her and placing an incredulous paw over his chest mockingly. " _Wow_ , cottontail," he said, keeping his features firmly rooted in looking genuinely insulted. "I _cannot_ believe you just said that to me. After all the times you got angry at me for saying it." With both of his paws, he drew the picture frame flat against his chest and crossed his arms over it, his ears pulling back as he looked away, eyes closed. Judy giggled at his reaction, and instantly his demeanour relaxed, flashing a lidded grin in her direction. "Maybe you should ease up on that eggnog. I think you've had too much to drink already."

It took a few seconds for her to taper off in mirth enough to reply. When she did, she pointed at him trying to look stern, though she utterly failed at it. "I only get angry because _you_ just do it to annoy me," she said, her voice bubbly from her continued laughter.

Cocking an eyebrow, he turned his whole body back towards her, taking the picture frame back into his paws. "Is that your game?" he asked, a playful amusement present in his tone. "Are you worried I'll stop calling you cute if you stop getting mad at me?"

Just barely holding in another fit of giggles, she forced her face to look offended with little success. " _Don't_ call me cute," she ordered, the smile both on her face and in her voice making the implicit threat fall flat.

The reaction was just as endearing for the fox as it always was, and the unspoken threats just made him want to push it farther. A wicked smile spread up his features, parting his lips and displaying his rows of sharp teeth. "Aw, Fluff," he cooed, keeping his lip movements as exaggerated as possible to flash more of his pearly whites. "If you just want to be reassured that you're pretty, all you've got to do is buy a mirror."

Judy's nose twitched a single time before her entire face hardened. The tight-lipped reaction had the fox raising a brow, but he kept on his leering, lidded eyes for a moment longer. Barely noticeable behind her grey fur, the already flushed skin of her face and neck grew several shades darker, and her blank, purple eyes darted between his piercing green ones. Awkwardly breaking into a spout of forced laughter, she tapped him on the shoulder with a balled up paw, relaxing the features of her face to more closely match her attempt to shift the air between them. "Your charm will _not_ work on me, Wilde."

Feeling that he had possibly struck a nerve more so than he normally would, his wicked grin grew larger and more crooked. "That's _so_ not fair," he said between dry chuckles, quirking his head to the side and pushing his pointed snout further into her personal space. A nagging voice in the back of his mind warned him to stop, and let it go, but the buzz that emanated from the back of his skull seemed to demand more, chanting for the wicked game to continue. How much had he had to drink? He couldn't remember. "Are you saying you get to bat me with your eyelashes all the time, but I can't so much as try to make you blush?"

The doe shrunk into herself, but did not pull away from the fox's advancement. Instead, she just pulled her shoulders up her long neck and pushed her elbows into her side, allowing him to inch closer. "You can certainly _try_ ," she replied, still feigning coolness. Her rich, amethyst eyes occasionally flickered down to his teeth as he drew closer, keeping his vision fixed on her orbs. In a flash, she sobered and pulled herself up to her full height against the wall, matching his gaze with a steady ease that had him halt his advancement and pull backwards a hair, his brow furrowing slightly. "It just won't work," Judy said sternly, fluttering him with her eyelashes and leering at him bewitchingly.

To his credit, Nick recognized that there was something off in her eyes, and narrowed his own to thin slits, pulling back even more. Whether it was the amount of alcohol playing tricks on him or something else, he did not know, but with a fresh breath of air, there was something that had tingled against the receptors in his snout. Something that hugged closely to the scent of the rabbit next to him, but just a little bit off. He was not allowed to dwell on it though, as when Judy saw that her front of confidence had the desired reaction, she visibly deflated. Nick just shot a quick breath of air out of his snout as he watched her smooth down her cashmere sweater and readjust his crimson beanie.

He could tell that she could feel his eyes on her, but she continued fussing over her clothes for a moment, her eyes locked on the dark red tip of his tail laying across her hind paws. After a while, she made a dramatic sniff and glanced back over to him, meeting his gaze. They searched each other's eyes for a long while, and Nick broke the tension by snorting in amusement, a smile creeping up his muzzle. In like fashion, Judy snorted back, and they both shared a comfortable laugh over the exchange, mutually feeling that they had no reason to be awkward around each other.

With the discomfort all but evaporated, the fox turned his eyes back to the picture in his paws. It was true, it probably did not cost a whole lot of money, and it may have even been the last gift simply as a punchline to make fun of the fact that he outwardly acted like he didn't like the picture, but he truly loved it. The amused smirk fell away to the gentle genuinity that was becoming more and more frequent. It was from the heart, and that was more than he could ever hope to ask for. Even the phone that had surely cost her more money than he liked being spent on himself could not even begin to hold a candle to a piece of paper trapped inside four slats of wood.

Judy was watching him intently with thoughtful eyes as he stared at the picture frame. After chewing on her lip for a brief moment, she rolled over on her spot, skidding sideways on her hip so that she was facing him completely, just a few inches away. Leaning her head back into the bricks, she looked down at the picture with him, and soon one of her small, grey paws came up to point at the image in his grasp. "There's more than one picture in there," she whispered.

Her words broke the spell on his mind, and Nick blinked. Tilting his head only slightly to look at her since she was so close, he cocked an eyebrow at her as he turned the frame around in his paws. "Really?" he asked, prompting Judy to nod lightly, his beanie scratching against the bricks her head was laying on. She did not meet his gaze as she looked at the image, chewing on her bottom lip in anticipation. Curiosity peaked, the fox started unlatching the backplate of the frame. "What else could there-"

Nick's words died in his throat when he fumbled the last latch, the backplate and two other pictures falling with a fluttering thump into his lap. The top picture was still the selfie, bright and muted in the grey light of the storm, a mixture of russet and grey framed by the noise of dried grass. The other picture, peeking out just behind the first, was darker. It was mostly obscured from vision, but what was visible displayed a clear dark green vignette backdrop that was usual of family photos, but far more importantly - barely visible over the edge of the first picture - there were two sets of russet, pointed ears, both almost black at the tips.

Something within the fox just stopped functioning, and his jaw went slack as he stared at the edge of the picture. It was as if time around him had slowed to a painful crawl, and the vibrant ripples of light that shone one from the Christmas tree played in the corners of his vision, barely reflecting off the glossy surface of the two pictures. His mouth worked wordlessly, opening and closing as if he was trying to form a word that had evaded his conscious mind, and he continued to stare, struck dumb. It took a long moment for the cogs of his brain to begin turning again, forcing the momentum of thought back into motion.

With a shaking paw, he reached out - unsure and hesitant - to thumb the image's edge. His courage flared in a moment of desperate need to know what was on that image, and he pinched the corner between the pads of his thumb and finger. Pulling it out into view, his breath hitched again, and a low choke shot out from his stomach in barely contained emotion. It was an image of two foxes, both neatly dressed in country clothing, standing side by side with their arms around a young todd.

The male was tall and proud-looking, half-lidded gleaming eyes full of burning amber staring into the camera with what could easily be construed as a self-satisfactory grin, but Nick instinctively knew it to be so much deeper than that. The female, he knew very well. He carried a picture of her wherever he went. She was tall and just as proud, back straight and ears fully erect, staring straight into the camera with equal parts challenging and undeniably happy piercing green eyes. The kit in their arms was not even looking at the lense. In fact, he had taken a particular interest to the father's chin, who pretended to ignore it. Nick _knew_ these people. They were...

"It wasn't easy to find…" Judy whispered next to him, her breath so close it was brushing against the fur of his neck. "And there might have been some ethical breaches of police conduct, but I found your mother's parents. I called them and said that I was your friend, and that I was wondering if they had any pictures of you with your mom and dad." Her eye snapped up to meet his bewildered gaze, and she flashed him the warmest, most reassuring smile that she could possibly muster. "They were… kinda surprised to say the least."

Nick's jaw worked wordlessly again. When he was finally able to enunciate, his voice came out in a cracked whisper, choked in emotion. "I…" he said, his voice failing him physically so that he had to swallow the lump in his throat. In a flash, his ears fell flat against his head as he stared into her eyes, and a deep frown slid down his face as his brow furrowed. "I don't…"

Her eyes glided back down to the picture in his paws, and she continued on her story without prompting. "They hadn't heard anything about you in more than twenty years, so they kinda bombarded me with questions," she said with a light chuckle, obviously remembering the exchange she had with his elderly grandparents. Judy's eyes hesitantly rose back up to meet his, and her warm smile took on a quality of indecisiveness. "I hope you don't mind, but I told them that you were training to be a police officer and that you were one of the best mammals that I have ever known."

Nick just blinked at her, and her paws came up around her chest, rubbing both of her elbows. "I know none of this was easy for you," she whispered, unable to keep his gaze. "I couldn't even _begin_ to understand the things you had to go through, but I didn't want you to just forget everything either." Timidly, her purple eyes rose up to meet his, and that is when she saw his face pull back in astonishment, his jaw hanging completely loose. Nick was frantically searching her eye from something - _anything_ \- but he could not find it. What he was holding in his paws, it was real.

Judy's eyes went back down to the picture of his parents, and her paw came up to run down the length of the paper, sliding over the two foxes that beamed back and the one kit giggling in youthful joy at some momentary fascination. Her own smile grew wider, the tight edges of her grin lost to the soft expression, and her lidded eyes drew over the visages captured in time. "They sounded like two of the kindest mammals I have ever heard of, and it made me realize just how you were able to be so good despite the _horrible_ life you had to endure." Looking back up at him a final time, she gazed into his eyes with an enormous smile. "I think - no, I know they would be proud of you."

In a flash of movement, the picture was dropped down beside the fox. Judy let out a startled squeak as she was moving through the air, but the moment she came in contact with his chest, she quieted. Nick pulled her in closer to him, wrapping his arms around her back and draping his long muzzle down her shoulder blades, almost completely enveloping her. It took a moment for the bunny to recover from the surprise, but when she did she struggled to free her arms enough to return the hug. Hooking around both sides of his ribs, she grabbed onto the back of his sweater and pushed herself deeper into the embrace.

The fox was genuinely struggling to keep the tears at bay. He had spent twenty years never allowing himself to cry, and he was going to be damned if he let it happen now. They were right on the edge; he could feel his eyes warm up from the threatening burst, but he did not allow it to spill over the edge. "I k-know I said no h-hugging," he choked out, maintaining his resolve to not cry, though he utterly failed at keeping his voice steady. "B-but I… Just let me…"

Judy buried her nose into the cream colored fur of his neck and breathed deeply, filling the concave crook in his neck like she was meant to fit right where she was. "It's alright, Nick," she whispered, her warm breath splitting when it came to his skin, spreading out in every direction underneath his fur. The fox desperately tried to pull her in as close as he could without hurting her. The doe's small, grey paw relaxed her furrowing grip on his sweater and patted him affectionately. "Let it out."

He almost did, too. The only thing holding it back was his crumbling pride, and if she cooed one more thing into his neck, Nick did not think he would make it. "I'm not crying," he said softly, wrapping his long snout around the back of her neck.

The bunny shook in his grip, and it took him a moment to realize that she was laughing. The fur around her nose shifted when she smile widely, pushing her expression so hard into him that he knew exactly what kind of face she was making. "Of course you're not," she agreed, short, breathy giggles sending waves of hot air through his undercoat, having pushed her nose all the way to the skin. "You've just got something in your eyes."

It was Nick's turn to laugh. His hearty chuckles shifted the bunny around in his arms, and the quick convulsions of his torso stretched the fabric of his sweater because she refused to let go. When he was done, he sighed deeply, deflating into her arms even though it should be the other way around. Wrapping his long neck further around her, he propped his chin up on her shoulder, and she turned her head to the side to connect their cheeks. His eyes drifted open, and he stared down at the photo of his family gently resting on the bed, having fallen right next to the picture of him and Judy. "Thank you," he whispered.

She tightened her hold on his chest and chuckled, her eyes still closed in comfortable joy. Nick could feel the smile on her face through the fur of his cheek, but before she could feel his, she turned back into the scruff of his neck and puffed out an amused breath of air. "Oh, you foxes," she said, shaking with gentle laughter. " _So_ emotional."

Nick chuckled along with her, and they stayed like that for some time. Since the fox's eyes had drifted back shut some moments prior, he lost himself in his thoughts. It was like the only thing that was real was the burning warmth in his chest, and Judy's face, turned downwards and pushed into the thick fur around his neck, sent sporadic shivers down his spine every time she exhaled. That feeling was back, stronger than ever. This time, however, it did not feel like it was emanating from the pit of his stomach. Instead, it felt like it was engulfing him whole from the outside in.

Every piece of his skin flared in both supreme embarrassment and joy, but he ignored both. All he did was wallow in the feeling of her closeness, and listen to her heartbeat. It was faster than his, both in rhythm and relative strength. It pulsated around her small body so powerfully that he could feel the surges run through the length of her ears, being clearly noticeable both through the thick beanie and his fur. Even though it was so different from his own, it brought on a new wave of that mysterious feeling, and sent a pang of heat into his own heart. By the time he realized he was lost in her presence, time had stretched on for several minutes.

With great reluctance, he started to pull away. Judy followed him for several inches before she realized that he was retreating, and with her own spout of hesitation, she only slowed her chase of his warmth. Finally, their bodies separated a fraction, and Nick's long muzzle glided over her fur until he had pulled away completely, the only connections being their awkward grasp on one another. When they gazed into each other's eyes, they finally broke their hold, blinking at one another. Judy looked away, her paw coming up to massage the hem of his crimson beanie, and one of Nick's paws came up to rub the back up his neck.

The atmosphere wasn't awkward, but the air between them was unmistakably cold. No longer sharing each other's warmth, the biting chill robbed the lingering warmth that clung to their fur. Lamely, Nick cleared his throat as he shuffled the pictures together, placing them back into the frame for safe keeping and refastening the latches of the backplate. Judy observed his movement with a sideways glance, chewing on her lip with her enormous incisors and her face blushed. "We've still got one more thing," Nick said, turning back to look at the doe and jerking his long snout out towards the lone box at the edge of the bed.

Her eyes followed the movement, and they fell onto the small, red box, and the fox hesitated for a moment. Far more than before, he was stuck with just how sentimental her gifts were, and how he had just bought trinkets. How could jewelry, of _any_ value, compare to something as precious as she had gotten him? He didn't think it could. Slowly, he reached out and took the simply wrapped present into his paw, straightening out to root his back against the wall behind him. Nick remained still for a moment, scrutinizing the gift that had instilled him with so much worry and hesitation for a while now, and sighed.

"It's…" he said, his voice growing weak as his words failed him, trailing off into nothing in the cold air. Stealing away his nerves, he glanced up to give Judy a searching glance. "I was a little embarrassed that I even got it," Nick admitted, waving the box lightly through the air and looking back down at it. "After the pawguards and the concert tickets, I had no idea what to get you. I felt like I had to get you something more after all you have done for me, but now with this…" Nick waved his paw out towards the picture frame next to him, shaking his head slowly. "It's just not enough. Your gifts have been so heartfelt and personal… I just bought you _stuff_."

Judy's paw was quick to shoot out and grasp Nick's arm, leaning over into his space again with reassuring eyes. "Don't say that," she said, flashing him a warm smile. "I loved everything you got me. Even this sweater."

Nick's piercing green orbs rose slowly up from the box to meet her gaze, and he froze on the spot. Her amorous glance was more than enough to make his breath hitch in his throat, and the minimal contact of her paw on his arm felt like it burned his skin. The fox's brow furrowed as he searched her eyes. "I'm not… _good_ at this," he stated, looking away and out into the apartment, unable to maintain the connection. "I can be sarcastic and difficult at times, I know, and when it comes down to me being open about things, I know I can be…" His voice trailed off again, and his knit brows became tighter as he searched for the word. " _Frustrating_."

With a solemn expression, Nick turned back to gaze into the doe's eyes, allowing his features to relax. "So no matter if you actually like this or not, let me just say that it was me trying to find a way to tell you how _thankful_ I am that you came into my life." Judy stared back at him anxiously, her nose lightly twitching on the forefront of her face at his serious words. "It's a sad truth, but if you weren't here, I would be out in the cold right now," he said flatly, making the bunny's eyes narrow in concern. " _Nothing_ I could have gotten would adequately convey to you just how much you've done."

Her other paw came up to the first, and she gripped his forearm reassuringly, shaking her head at him. "I don't know if I can really take credit for all of that, Nick," she said. "I might have pushed, but you were the one to-"

Nick shot a quick breath of air out of the tip of his snout. "You're ruining my speech," he said, cutting her off, the ghost of a smile curling the corners of his mouth.

Slightly embarrassed, she shrunk away a fraction, but she refused to break the contact of her paws on his arm. "Sorry," she replied with a coy smile.

Chuckling lightly at her, he traded the present between his paws for a moment before lamely offering it over to her. Judy's eyes shot down to the outstretched paw before quickly snapping back up into Nick's eyes. The fox nodded his head and gestured at her with the small box, urging her to take it. "Here you go."

Hesitantly, she removed her paws from his arm and took the present, turning back around to sit straight against the brick wall behind her. Taking a hanging end of the golden bow, she pulled the knot loose, letting the glimmering golden ribbon fall away with ease. It wasn't wrapped like the others. Instead, the red box had a simple lid on the top that concealed the contents within, held in place by the golden bow, so Judy did not have to waste time plucking away at scotch tape or anything like that. All she had to do was lift the cardboard topping away, and the present would be staring her in the face.

Even though that was the case, and the bow was already carefully discarded, the doe hesitated in lifting it away. With an unsteady paw, she finally grabbed the top of the container and lifted it away, revealing a long, felt case within. It wasn't so different from the glasses case that he had given to her just prior, but the design was much more elegant, curved and ridged with expensive care. In the center of the felt, situated on the very top of the case, was a collection of shimmering silver littering, reading out the logo of the store he had gotten it from. Judy's paw came up to cover her mouth as her eyes widened at the words _'Zooles: The Diamond Store'_.

Judy's large, lavender eyes snapped up to meet his gaze, but he just met her stare with a silent plea to continue, causing her to turn her full attention back to the felt box. With the paw she used to cover her mouth, she carefully retrieved the case from the larger cardboard container, setting it to the side so she could use both paws to open the jewelry box. When she did, she sucked in a quick breath at the sight laid out before her. The paw that had trailed down to open the felt case shot back up over her mouth and her large eyes grew to the size of dinner plates as she stared, completely dumbstruck, at the necklace within.

Sitting comfortably in the plush, black velvet interior was a white gold pendant attached to a chain of a similar alloy. More notably, though, were the five amethyst gemstones that circled a fiery imperial topaz, looking just like a lavender flower that had opened up. The fine cuts of the rich purple gemstones were perfectly shaped to look like small hearts circling the center, and the deep orange of the topaz contrasted beautifully with the rest of the necklace. The frame of white gold that attached all of the precious gems together hooked onto the stones discretely, and the back plating could be seen through the gems as a solid, flower shape.

"Nick…" Judy whispered, her fingers delicately lowering down to run over the bright necklace. Carefully, she flipped the necklace over to look at the back, and that's when her brow furrowed on her forehead and she convulsed in pure astonishment. Her neck lost its rigid straightness and she shook her head, a noise that was a mixture of overwhelming joy and emotion escaping her lips when she saw the black engraving on the white gold backplating. Written out in swirling font was one word: _Carrots_. "This is…" her voice trailed off again, and finally her eyes darted up to meet his careful gaze. "How much was this?"

Nick chuckled dryly, a paw coming up to the back of his neck to smooth down his fur awkwardly. "You ask that like I am actually going to answer that question," he said, looking away.

Her nose was twitching now, but not even that and the furrow in her brow could taper the pure emotion and barely contained enchantment that oozed out of her deep, colorful eyes. "How could you afford this?" she asked, leaning closer towards him. Nick did not pull away even a fraction, and he just watched her move closer to him, searching his eyes. Suddenly, her gaze shifted back down to the necklace, and her features displayed a momentary worry that had the fox pausing. "Did you use…?"

"Nope," Nick said firmly, knowing exactly what she was talking about. Bringing one of his own paws up, he waved it through the air dismissively and shook his head, trying to be as clean as possible to quell any reservations about how he was able to afford such a piece. With the paw he had raised, he pointed down at the necklace. "Chief Bogo paid me for my services, remember?" he said, capturing the doe's attention with his eyes. He looked as deep into her own amethyst pools as he could, instilling every bit of confidence that he could muster with just a look. "I didn't use a penny of the money I had before."

Blinking, her brow furrowed again, and her eyes fell back onto the necklace. With a shaking paw, she deftly retrieved the pendant between her thumb and finger. For a moment, she just ran her padless thumb over the gemstones, staring down at it with lidded eyes, full of emotion. Suddenly, she pulled the chain free of the case and set the felt container to the side with the rest of the boxes and hel the necklace up by the chain. It swung in her grasp for a few seconds before she dropped it into her open palm, and they both looked down at how the rich purple and deep orange looked on her light grey fur.

Judy choked, and Nick's eyes snapped over to her in an instant, his ears swiveling backwards. She was just staring at it, a storm of emotions raging behind her vision. Even her bottom lip was quivering, and to contain the shiver, she sucked it into her mouth so that she could capture it between her enormous bucked teeth. "I don't know what to say…" she said, her voice barely above a whisper until it trailed off into the cold apartment completely. Shaking her head as she was lost in thought, she tried to form the words that evaded her still, and she found herself completely speechless at the behest of the shiny pendant in her paw. "I've never…"

Nick was looking at her with worry written out on his features, chewing on the insides of his cheeks in anticipation. When he had gotten it, he had hoped for bubbly elation, but the bunny just barely holding in emotion was not at all what he had imagined. She was practically shivering in place, and his interpretive skills were utterly failing him under the pressure of doubt and uncertainty. "Do you…" he said cautiously, having to clear his throat once before continuing. "Like it, at least?"

The doe's eyes snapped up in an instant to see his worried gaze, and instantly her features went slack. "Do I _like it_?" she asked, completely dazed by the gift. Nick searched her eyes for another moment before she exploded into action, unclasping the white gold chain dexterously and pulling it around either side of her neck as she tilted her head down. In a flash, she had refastened the mechanism behind her head and she sat up to her full height, paw laying flat against her chest right next to the hanging gemstone flower. An immense smile split up her face as she looked down at the pendant, beaming. "It's beautiful."

His eyes darted between the gemstone lavender flower and her eyes, and waved of intense relief washed over him. A breath that he did not even realize that he was holding in expunged from his lungs, and his muscles lost the painful tension that had kept the locked in place. Deflating, he marveled at how well it matched her eyes and the lavender cashmere sweater she was wearing, the smallest trace of orange from the imperial topaz in the center shining out brilliantly. His gaze shot back upwards, however, when he saw a wide grin creep over her face.

Judy barreled into him again, wrapping her arms around both of his biceps and locking the fox in place. She pushed her nose into his chest and tightened her hold to the point that it dug his elbows into his own ribcage. Awkwardly, he brought up his arms at the elbow and draped them upwards on her back, coming to a stop just above her shoulder blades. "I'll cherish it for the rest of my life," she whispered, glancing up at him with lidded, emotional eyes. Nick smiled warmly down at her as she gave him one more squeeze before pulling away, placing her paw back onto her chest and looking down at the piece of jewelry that hung from her neck. "How does it look on me?"

The relief still running through him as he deflated, a humorless, awkward chuckle escaped his lips, and one of his paws came up to smooth his ears down onto his head. Swallowing the lump in his throat as he continued to recover, he looked down into her eyes playfully. "You won't bait me _that_ easily, Fluff," he replied, a crooked grin running up his long muzzle.

A giggle escaped her smiling lips as she looked back up at him, amusement reaching all the way to her eyes. Having risen to her knees next to the fox so that she could hug him, she quirked her hip out and planted a paw on it, her other paw still laid flat against her chest. "I'll give you a pass _this_ time, Slick," she said in a droning tone, an impish smile coming to her.

Nick's eyebrows rose high onto his forehead, and he brought his own paw to lay flat against his chest. "How presumptuous of you, Carrots," he retorted, his smooth, lidded expression sliding into its normal position with ease. "How do you even know what I was going to say?" The bunny's smile shifted and her brow furrowed, and a second later she glowered at him while puffing out her cheeks, clearly disappointed. The fox chuckled heartily at her reaction, keeping his lidded eyes on her, unblinking. Seizing his opportunity to reduce the oppressive feeling of seriousness, he leaned in closer.

"Don't look so hurt, Fluff," he said with a husky rumble, inching ever closer towards her. Much like last time, she did not shrink back from him in distance, but she did shift her stance defensively, her nose beginning its routine of twitching on the forefront of her short muzzle. Nick's eyes reflected the dim light of the apartment with their striking green, and the dangerous smile grew wider when her eyes again flickered down to his teeth. "I was going to say that it makes you look _beautiful_ , but that would be a lie," he whispered, making her eyes fix to his. The fox leaned just a little bit close before stopping an inch away. "You don't need a necklace for that."

A loud snort of amusement, shot up the bunny's features like lighting over a dark sky, and a second later she was doubling over in a full-body laugh. Nick, in turn, chuckled along with her, pulling away slightly to be at a more respectable distance. For a moment, he just listened to her bout of laughter intently, feeling like he did not get to hear her voice broken by pure joy and laughter enough, even finding the loud snorts that broke up her mirth in an unladylike fashion incredibly endearing. The image alone was enough to bring an entirely genuine smile to his face, but the sounds of her amusement made it reach all the way to his eyes.

Finally getting a hold on herself, she straightened up. "You charming bastard!" she said happily, her words broken by giggles. Before he could protect himself, she balled up her paw and hit him right on the arm, prompting a soft yelp from the fox and a paw to shoot up to the afflicted area. Judy just smiled warmly at him, her face heated by both the alcohol and attempted cajoling, watching him rub the spot on his arm tenderly with his own amused grin. The doe giggled again, flopping down onto her knees, a wicked, lidded grin on her features. "It's not working."

Nick cokced his brow, looking like he had no idea what she was talking about. "No?"

She shook her head, still smiling broadly at him. "You can keep trying, though," she said, offering him a sly look. "I won't hold it against you."

Humming happily at that, Nick watched her look back down at the necklace. "Oh, good," he replied airily, dropping his caressing paw back down into his lap. "I wouldn't know what to do with myself if you did."

Judy giggled again at his comment, but didn't look up from her jewelry. Carefully, her paws rose up to grab a hold of the small pendent and turn it around, pointing the backplate back up towards the doe to study. She stared at the engraving for some time, and the fox kept his eyes on her, studying her reaction to it. Putting the nickname onto it instead of her actual name, in hindsight, seemed like a strange thing to do, but he couldn't help but want the bunny before him to think of _him_ every time she looked at it. Maybe engraving such a backhanded nomenclature was just his way of saying he cared.

Suddenly, her eyes snapped up from the engraving and into his studious green orbs, and a soft smile broke out over her face with such infectious intensity that it made the fox's own lips grow at least twice as large and half as smug. "Thank you, Nick," she said with manifest sincerity capturing every corner of her face.

Nick's expression fell away at the unbridled emotion in her eyes, and he felt that very same emotion reaching up from his stomach again. Something about it quelled the rush of uncertainty, and the fox found himself more embarrassed to be on the receiving end of such sincerity than anything else. Nick waved a dismissive paw through the air as he turned away. "It was no big deal."

The fox's mind did not stay active for long, though, as she brought herself back onto her knees and leaned towards him. Just a short distance away, she placed her paw over his heart and squeezed lightly, her other placed right on her own, just next to her new necklace. Judy flashed him a reassuring smile before removing the paw propping her up and falling contentedly into his chest with a puff of air at the impact. " _Yes_ ," she said, curling her arms into her chest and burying her nose into him. "It _was_."

Stunned by the movement, it took Nick several moment to wrap his arms around the rabbit, pulling her in tighter. It was different from their usual hugs, as she wasn't hugging him back. Instead, she had curled up completely and thrown herself into his arms, allowing him to he the source of the contact, and that fact was not lost on him as he brought his tail around to drape over her legs. A dry chuckle emanated from his chest as he looked down at the top of his crimson beanie on her head, and he patted her on the back earnestly. "You bunnies…"

A quick snort escaped her and she dragged her nose upwards to look at him, popping out one of her paws from the enveloping embrace to point an accusatory finger at him at him. " _Don't_ say it," she warned, puffing out her cheeks.

Nick just chuckled, watching her abandon her threatening glare and nuzzle back into him. They stayed like that for several minutes, and Nick allowed himself to relax into the closeness again. Briefly, his mind wondered to what it was going to be like when he had to leave and go back to the academy, where he wouldn't be able to be so close to her for another long time. He was quick to push that thought out of his mind, though, instead just wallowing in the way her petite, yet surprisingly strong arms felt curled into him, and now her nose twitched every few seconds against his chest. It was a closeness he had not known for a long time, and now that he had it, he didn't want to let it go.

After a few moments though, the bunny softly pushed on his chest, and pulled away from him. She flashed him a heated smile, and the fox observed the color of her face, seeing that she had darkened several shades since she had pushed her face into him, and he quirked an eyebrow at her bemused, bashful expression. The doe just chewed on her lip again, though, and turned her head to look past him towards the window, prompting Nick to follow her gaze. The snow was still falling beyond the glass, far more gently than earlier. Some time ago the projector had gone into sleep mode, letting the apartment fall into the dim light only provided by the Christmas tree, though he could scarcely remember it happening.

The quick flurries that fluttered across their view into the outside did not hold the rabbit's attention, though. Her eyes had fallen onto the burnt orange electronic clock, the bright green digital lettering shining brightly on the dark windowsill. "It's only a little after eight," Judy said, making Nick's eyes drop down to the clock to affirm her comment before turning back to look at her. She continued looking at the clock even after he had turned to her, chewing on her lip in thought. After a moment, she looked up at him without turning her head. "Do you want to watch another movie?"

Nick just chuckled, smiling broadly down towards her. "I'd love to."

With a gleeful squeak, she wrapped her arms around his chest again, but before he could return the hug, she was gone in a rush of movement. The first thing she did was reach over him and pluck his 'Welcome to Zootopia' mug out from the piles of torn paper and hurrying off across the mattress. Nick watched her swipe the other mug from the top of the closed laptop and hop off the bed, walking towards their makeshift kitchen. Observing the way she walked for a moment, he finally tore his eyes away with a soft shake of his head, retrieving the laptop himself to get on with the task of looking for the next movie.

Tapping away with a quick, useless flourish on the laptop's keyboard, he woke it up from its slumber, and began searching through the collection. With the movement came the projector coming back to life, filling the room with the white light of Nick searching through the computer's files. A harsh sound of scraping made his ears twitch, and he looked up to see Judy pulling her stool up in front of their shelf, positioning it just in front of pot of eggnog. Now with a smile, the fox turned back down and scrolled through his options. With the knowledge that the doe was quickly filling their mugs, he settled on Die Hard, feeling like it was Christmassy enough, and set the laptop to the side.

Just as he did so, the mattress shifted with the weight of the bunny climbing back on top of it, her eyes locked on the two mugs in her grasp, careful not to spill them. Curiously, Nick watched her move towards him, but instead of settling back into her spot she handed both of the mugs over to him. Cocking a brow, Nick accepted them, wondering if she was going to recreate her blanket cocoon. Much to his surprise, that was not her intention. Instead, she dropped down right in front of him, her paws landing right between his legs. A startled sound escaped his maw as he watched her crawl forward, coming up just under his nose.

"Come on," she urged him, grabbing hold of the hem of the sweater and pulling it upwards. "Let me back in."

Realization coming over his features, Nick chuckled at her. She shot him a sideways glance before disappearing under the piece of clothing, crawling up onto his chest. Watching her tail bob around in his vision, he felt her turn against him, and in a moment she landed with a thump just between his legs, still completely engulfed by the decorative material. "You're welcome anytime, Fluff," he said fondly, the sight of her head popping out of his chest and struggling to get her arms through the sleeves curling up his lips into a broad, toothy smile. When she was situated, he handed her mug down to her. "Anytime."

Turning her head to shoot him an appreciative smile, she leaned all of her weight back into his chest, almost laying down on the bed in a lounging position. The movie started playing before them, and Judy glanced away to give it her full attention, taking her first sip of her alcoholic beverage. Nick, on the other paw, did not even look up. He kept his attention on the bunny that meshed completely with his chest, using him as a large pillow. Just as she was done with her sip, she rested the cup in her lap and let her head thump back against his chest. Nick's mouth ran dry, and in an effort to wet his tongue, he downed half of his eggnog in one gulp.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

 **I suppose this is where I humorously inquire as to what year it is, further beating _that_ dead horse. For the sake of brevity (I am aware of the irony), let's just chalk it up to a simple apology. I was almost two weeks late with this one, and I am sure had some of you itching. I can't say I've got a real reason, though. I could have probably gotten this out sooner if I wasn't so lazy. So, I have returned! I've come back to write about two people... sitting on a bed. Opening... eight presents. And it took me 26 thousand words. I can still use the defense that I'm new at this, right?**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. It's not really shaping up to me having gotten this out in time for Christmas, but I hope you won't hold it against me.**


	5. Chapter 5 (end)

**Preliminary Author's Note:**

 **I guess I've got egg on my face from all those times I complained about getting a chapter done in** _ **three**_ **days instead of** _ **two**_ **, huh?**

* * *

 _December 24th_

 _11:04 pm_

* * *

The sound of rushing water striking the curve in the drain broke the chilling silence of the room. The noise of the water flowing back into the toilet persisted with a low hiss, prolonging the shattered silence. For a brief moment the room was silent, but in an instant, old hinges cried out in exertion when a dark green door was thrust out of its frame, swinging far out enough to ricochet off the adjoined stalls. A lumbering russet blur came out of the stall in a hastened shuffled, stumbling over his own hind paws and tail until he nearly toppled over the porcelain sink that jutted out of the tiled wall.

The only reason the fox did not break his jaw over the faucet in his fall was the two paws that gripped either side of the stained sink desperately, catching him halfway through his tumble. A heavy heave came out of his maw, and slowly his snout rose up to look at himself in the mirror. Nick had looked better. His fur was ruffled and unkempt, sticking up at odd angles and flattened in others. The clothes he wore were not much better, with his spring green vest unbuttoned and hanging loosely off his shoulders and the cuffs of his red collar shirt unfastened, the sleeves rolled up haphazardly with little care or coordination.

About the only thing on him that did not look like he had slept in it was his black tie, cartoon carrots spotting the dark stripe all the way down his chest, hanging off his open collar that was loose enough to show off a liberal amount of chest fur. Nick looked like he had fallen into a dryer at the start of its cycle, and he did not feel that much better. Groaning, he lifted up one of his paws to run down the length of his long muzzle, but found himself nearly falling down thanks to the overcompensation on his only steadying limb. The fox swore under his breath and pounded his forehead with the base of his palm, willing his brain to clear of fog.

Unfortunately, the process was not so simple, and Nick found himself more dizzy than when he started. With a resigned sigh, he braced his weight on the sink once more and set his forehead against the glass. He closed his eyes tight and took deep, correctional breaths, abandoning his futile attempts to regain lucid awareness for a more achievable inebriated cognisance. After several moments, and a gentle reassurance he wasn't going to vomit up his dinner, Nick pushed himself back up into a standing posture and looked into his own eyes. The attempt was much better than the first, and the fox felt the much-needed relief.

Regaining some of his awareness, Nick took the time he had to glance around the communal bathroom that he found himself in, trying to take his mind off the unbalanced buzz that was constricting his thoughts into an unintelligible mess of half-syllables. The weathered hardwood and sickly green walls were not present in the bathrooms of Judy's building, instead consisting of a seemingly mismatched collection of ivory tiles that coated the floor, walls, and ceiling, each in vastly different styles and sizes. The only spots of color in the monochrome space were the chipped dark green stalls, shower curtains, and a single chrome trash can.

The communal bathroom was set up a lot like the shower rooms of many gyms he used to frequent during his time on the streets, and it actually did not take long for him to adjust to the setup. The whole space was shaped like a 'U', with the entrance opening up into a long section of toilet stalls and urinals on one side, and a long mirror with separated porcelain sinks situated in front of it on the other. Around the bend was the shower stalls, providing the residents of the building a good amount of privacy from the usual traffic of the bathroom. The whole room was drab, stained, chipped, old, and above everything else cold as ice.

Nick twisted the faucet's hot water knob as far as it would go and dumped a small pool of liquid soap onto his paw from a fixture. After a good amount of psyching himself up, the fox stuck his paws into the path of the flowing water and hissed in sheer displeasure. The hot water was still broken, and in no place was that more evident than in the bathroom. The air seemed to get even colder in the tiled room, setting over everything like a blanket of frigid snow, and the shockingly low temperature did not make walking across the tiled floor without any pawguards pleasant by any means on the imagination.

A guttural, disappointed groan escaped his twisted face before the todd whined in a high pitch, finally shutting off the water after the last of the suds fell into the drain. Nick huffed as he tore sheet after sheet of paper towels out of another fixture, dabbing his fur roughly to expunge the water trapped inside his undercoat. Truthfully, his head was swimming in an ocean of muted noise. He could vaguely understand that he was in the bathroom, drying his paws, but the information could never make it all the way to his brain. It was almost like he was dreaming, and was stuck in a haze of only half-awareness, probably to be forgotten upon his eventual awakening.

It took several minutes—as well as several more paper towels—before he finally felt like he did not have ice trapped against his skin, but the cold was all encompassing, and solving one source did not protect him from the myriad of others. Stumbling back from the mirror, he began his sluggish trek towards the entrance. Every step was equal amounts heavy and brisk, the fox not wanting to spend any more time atop the ice-cold tiles of the room. The only problem was when he had finally ordained it necessary to look up, as he could have sworn that it was a shorter distance to the door, he found that he had gone in the wrong direction.

Instead of the chipping wooden door clad with a bronze push-plate, he found himself blinking at the complete opposite side of the room, looking in the shower stalls that lined the far end of the 'U' shape. An irritated growl rumbled out of Nick's throat as his ears swiveled back against his head, swearing under his breath at both himself and the world. Just as he was about to turn, his vision fell onto a piece of notebook paper that had been taped to the wall, words written out in a large, angry font. He took a careful step forwards, squinting at the paper and trying desperately to blink the blurr out of his eyes.

' _No hot water on Christmas,'_ it read, clear indications of indignant scorn present in every pen-stroke. _'Why I pay real money to live in this hellhole, I will never know. If you are reading this, don't bother. The blind suit of armor is out of town, and her lackey doesn't possess any other senses, including any of the "common" variety.'_ Nick blinked at the note, but soon a toothy grin was reaching its way up his muzzle. The light chuckle that emanated from his chest rose in intensity until he was laughing so hard that he had to brace himself on the wall next to the note, lest he run the risk of falling on his face.

Still chuckling, he fumbled with his pocket a few times before pulling out a plastic carrot. Placing his paw flat against the wall next to the piece of notebook paper, he leaned in and squinted his eyes at the blue lines on the page, pressing the green plastic leaves on the top of the pen with a satisfying click. In true, drunken fashion, he scribbled down, in some of the worst penmammalship in years, the first thing that came to his mind.

"Don't worry," Nick said in slurred amusement, grinning to himself as he spoke the words he was writing. "The hot water is… back… on."

He took a step back to marvel at his accomplishment, but his smile quickly fell when he became aware of how it looked like a kindergartner had written it in haste. Nick huffed out a breath, but before he could glower in earnest at the failure, his pocket buzzed. Nick blinked again, looking around the bathroom for the source of the buzzing, but found himself still alone. Lip-parting confusion was the first thing that crossed his slowed thoughts, but immediately after that had passed his eyebrows shot up on his forehead at the realization. Replacing the carrot pen, he went digging around in his other pocket, searching for his newest piece of technology.

Just as quick as his paw found a firm grip on the phone did he whip it out, a move that proved a mistake the moment it slipped out of his grasp. It was like the sheer terror that chilled his blood colder than the air around him also had the ability to rip the alcohol out of his body, and Nick was sober in an instant. The flash of movement would have probably impressed him under any other circumstance, but he did not even notice it. Nick had practically dived for the sleek device, and he deftly caught it just as it was about to smack the hard tiled floor. For a moment, he just stood there, phone in paw barely an inch above the floor.

The full-body deflate that had the fox throwing his back into the wall would have been enough to knock the wind out of him, if the long sigh had not already done so. Immense relief washed over him as his paw came up to smooth down his ears, shaking his head with disappointment in himself. Sighing again, he finally opened his eyes and brought the phone up in front of his muzzle, making a silent vow to _never_ do that again. Pressing the power button, the LED screen lit up before his unfocused eyes. Nick grabbed onto the phone with both paws before adjusting his grasp to swipe his thumb across the screen, unlocking it.

Near the top of the phone, a blurry notification was blinking at him, and with no small amount of effort, he finally navigated through the menu to view what he realized was a text message. _'How's the eather out there, Slcik?'_ it read, and the fox squinted his eyes. His gaze flicked up to the top of the screen to find it was sent by Judy, and immediately a smile crept up his muzzle.

It wasn't like he had never received a text before; Nick had used a prepaid several times for a number of hustles with Finnick. Even so, there was something so incredible to him that he was now staring at his first ever text message from Judy, and whether it was the alcohol or the general high that had settled into him from his first real day with her in a while, he did not know, nor did he really even care. The important thing to him was that it was happening in the first place, and he would not trade it for the world. It didn't even matter that the message was a snide comment meant to rub her victory in his muzzle.

Nick steadied himself and concentrated hard on trying to reply, hunching over to gaze into the screen with intensity as his fingers awkwardly danced over the touch screen. _'Realy?'_ he wrote, not even attempting to correct the mistake. _'The first text that you send me ever is a drunken gloat?'_ He hesitated for just a moment before tapping the send button, exhaling tiredly as he straightened up, looking around the bathroom.

After a moment of clouded deliberation, he finally turned his body and began his trek back across the tiled floor, making his way towards the door. He was still out of his mind, there was no changing that even with a potentially soul-crushing travesty, but he was making a larger effort to remain lucid. His movements might have been even more awkward than when he was just wallowing in the buzz, but at least he felt like he wasn't dreaming anymore.

Just as Nick was pushing open the door, the phone in his paw buzzed again, and Nick brought it up to his muzzle as he stumbled out into the hallway. _'Don't hate me beacsue I'm better at RPS, Wilde,'_ it read, causing the fox to release an incredulous breath as he made his way down the hallway. Passing a second door with a bronze plaque reading 'female', the fox began typing away.

' _It wasn't afir to start with,'_ he wrote back, his brow knitting on his forehead with the memory of his losing streak in Rock, Paper, Scissors. _'There is no raesion for you to keep that sweater when you have banklets and I am the one that has to go ousside.'_ Nick punched the send button and looked back up. The light in the hallways of the building were always easier on his sensitive eyes, leaving behind the painful fluorescence that reflected off the slick tiles in just the wrong way, and into the more warm incandescent counterparts that lined the ceiling of the hallways and rooms. The orange light cast weird shadows on the walls, accentuating the warped and torn wallpaper.

A buzz that tickled the pads of his paw brought his attention back down to his phone, seeing that she had sent him a reply. _'Of cousre there is,'_ it read. _'It's warm.'_

Nick scoffed at the screen before his eyes, shaking his head. _'Exactly wwhy I should have kept it, rabbit,'_ he wrote. Having to walk, read, write, and concentrate on sobering up was not helping his drunken grammar, and every mistake made his brow furrow more in distaste. He was far past the point of being able to do anything about it, though. _'You've got al the blankest and clothes in our whokle apartment at your disposal, and you choose the sweater off my back?'_

Punching the send button with an exaggerated exhale, Nick brought his full attention back to his trek through the hallway. On a usual day, he would find some architectural mistake or bizarre quirk of the stretch of old wood and wallpaper, but at the moment he was just focusing on not tripping over himself. Every step was labored and intense, falling down on the ground like he mistakenly believed there was one more step at the bottom of a set of stairs. It was almost like he was wearing flippers on his hind paws, and it irritated him to no end. Why he kept getting drunk when every time he ended up regretting it, he did not know.

Uniformly sized doors that he could only guess led into similarly tiny apartments to Judy's passed him on either side. If he was to strain his hearing to its very limits, he may have been able to make out the faintest of sounds of electricity and the wind outside, but any evidence of other mammals was not present. It was a strange thing considering that every other time he had walked the halls he could at the very least hear the sounds of a television, but now there was nothing but the buzzing of the lights overhead. He slowly came to believe that it was because it was Christmas, there was no hot water, and no one would _ever_ want to spend the holiday stuck here during a blizzard. No one except him, anyway.

His paw buzzed, and Nick confusedly glanced down to find that he was still holding his phone. Running his tongue over the tips of his teeth, he brought the device back up to read the newest message. _'I won it fair and squeawe,'_ it read. _'If you werent so stuborn, you could have just taken the academny jacket I am looking at right now.'_ The fox was about to type his reply when another message came in only seconds after the first. _'Hold on, this was my gift, wasn't it? Whtas are you doing tryiong to steal it from me?'_

Chuckling, he began dancing both of his padded thumbs over the touch screen, swerving between the walls of the hallway as he went. _'I said I wasnt a package deal with thos eticekts,'_ he wrote, smiling to himself. _'I did not say anything about the sweater.'_ Just as he hit the send button, Nick glanced up to stop himself just in time before he ran straight into a wall, having come to an intersection where the stretch of hallway he was following ended. He huffed at the wall, blinking, before he turned and started the last stretch that led to their apartment.

Was it alright for him to think it was 'theirs'? The question struck his unbalanced mind at just the right moment to befuddle him, and Nick slowed his pace as his brow furrowed. When had it become 'theirs' to him? This, he did not know. Maybe it was sometime before he had left, or maybe it was after, waking up in a cold bunk surrounded by mammals that didn't have long ears and a fluffy tail. Nick's brow furrowed deeper and he stopped completely, looking down at his hind paws. Many things about that train of thought stuck him as odd, but the oddest of all was how calling the apartment 'theirs' brought the return of that same, lingering feeling, reaching up from the pit of his stomach.

Nick did not have any time to dwell on the conflict that stormed within him, as the plastic and glass rectangle in his paw forced his attention back into the real world with a strong vibration. Squinting, he brought the screen back up to his muzzle, starting his walk down the hallway again. _'Oh, so I'm only allowed to wear thius if youre in it?'_ it read. An amused breath came out in a quick puff from his chest, and the fox's unfocused mind found itself wandering back to the memory of snuggling up with her in the piece of clothing. The feeling intensified before he forced it back down, regaining a modicum of control over his own body.

Levity was key in situations where he did not know what else to say, and this was no exception. He did not find the idea of telling her that he would really _like_ that to be the case very wise, but the thought did cross dangerously close to his tongue, or _fingers_ , thanks to his lessened inhibitions. _'Thats riught, longears,'_ he wrote, going for something that sounded at least _decently_ joking. _'You hotta choose.'_

Nick tapped the send button and looked back up, but unfortunately he discovered that he may have done so far too quickly. The effect of the hallway twisting in circles did little for his already queasy stomach, and the lightheaded dizziness that came with a blinding light in front of his eyes did little for the rest of his body. Stumbling, Nick braced himself against the wall to keep from falling over and took deep, steadying breaths. He sighed, closing his eyes to breathe through his nose for a moment before continuing, his first few steps being braced against the wall until he found his momentum.

It only took a few steps for the phone in his paw to buzz again, but the fox did not look at it for several seconds, craning his head around to be doubly sure that he was actually going to right way. The only defining features were the brass numbers unevenly hammered into the old, wooden doors, and the rest was a maze of identical hallways and similarly weathered floorboards. Satisfied, he gave his surroundings one more suspicious glance before bringing the phone up, swiping his thumb across the screen and opening the newest message. _'I'm takin it off right now.'_

Chuckling, Nick gave a passing glance over the screen before beginning to tap away on the touch pad. _'Youre breaking my hheart,'_ he wrote, smiling dopily to himself. Nick clicked the send button and returned to his careful pace, a newfound sense of lightness in his steps. He could get used to this, texting with Judy whenever, wherever.

There were few things in the world that really had Nick aching to get up in the morning, but Judy Hopps was definitely one of them. It would be impossible for him to deny that it was the truth, even to himself. Sometime in the few months they had known each other, she had quickly become the center of his universe. Before, he more often than not found himself wandering, with no purpose or drive in any particular direction. Now, it often seemed like he did not even know there _was_ a direction that wasn't circling around the planet-sized rock that was the ball of enthusiasm, kindness, and strength that he currently shared an apartment with.

Perhaps he should have found it at least a little strange that his entire life seemingly revolved around her, but for the life of him he could not come up with a reason that it was a bad thing. He wasn't really going anywhere important before she barreled through his life, and if he could do it all over again, he would honestly not change a thing. If any change could have cause _this_ not to happen, he would endure it all over again a million times before he even considered changing anything. The only question that kept coming back was one that he had been thinking for weeks now: how could a fox like him be so lucky?

Right now, Nick was on cloud nine. Judy had loved her presents, he was spending the evening with the only mammal he cared to, they had an amazing meal, and they were currently binging on movies while getting completely wasted on homemade eggnog. It was like a dream, and it was why his mind kept intruding on his elation with the same pesky questions: "how are you so lucky, why does she even like you, who are you kidding?" They lasted only moments in the basking fox's mind, but the stamp they left could not be ignored. Even in his inebriated state, Nick wondered what else he could do to make this Christmas better for her.

If she was just pretending, putting on a face to give him a sense that he wasn't some dumb fox that tried to buy her approval, he did not know what he would do with himself. It was a ridiculous thought—even his drunken mind knew that—but the worry was not new. It was actually very, _very_ old. That kind of mindset had been with him for a long time now, but as soon as he became aware that he was thinking that way, he swore at himself openly. Judy deserved more than the distrust he was affording her, even if he was intoxicated. If she said she loved his presents, he would trust that. If she said she didn't mind him living with her, he would trust that. It was the least he could do for everything that she was to him.

Lost in his thoughts, Nick did not realize that he had ended up going straight past Judy's apartment, and when he looked up at the brass numbers that told him he had gone to far, he glowered. Shaking his head of those wretched thoughts of distrust and negativity, he turned and made his way back towards _their_ door, because even if he was only a part-time resident now, it was still his home— _their_ home. Nick came up to the door, hesitating before turning the knob and walking through the threshold. '302', it was such a random number, and it belonged to one of the worst living spaces outside of the southwest side, but to Nick, it was way more than that.

With a dopey smile spreading over his muzzle, Nick pushed open the door and walked into the apartment, sending a warm greeting over to the bunny wrapped up in blankets and an oversized sweater on the bed. She didn't notice him at first, her drowsy eyes fixed to their makeshift movie screen, chewing on her bottom lip to suppress a giant smile with her phone in both of her paws. The lamp on her desk and the main light that hung off the ceiling were on, bathing the apartment in a warm, orange light and blurring the screen a bit. Silently shutting the door behind him, the fox flicked the switch above the side table that flanked the door, condemning the apartment to the mostly blue light of the screen.

The quick change in lighting startled the bunny, and her ears tried to hike up on her head despite the crimson beanie still on her, trapping her ears inside the flap of material hanging off the crown of her head. She quickly turned to face the fox that was moving further into their apartment, and the nose twitching and chewing stopped, replaced by a broad, toothy smile. "What took you so long?" Judy asked, beaming at him. She was practically shouting, her inside voice having been lost to the alcohol that spready a blush over her cheeks. Whenever she was drunk, it was like she forgot how to speak normally, and Nick found it absolutely endearing, no matter how much it hurt his sensitive ears at times. "You've been gone for like twenty minutes."

The fox huffed out a breath, an easy smile over his muzzle and lidded eyes directed at the rabbit snuggled up on the bed, her back against the brick wall. "You're drunk," he said flatly, raising an eyebrow. "It just felt like twenty minutes." Judy's nose scrunched up at the accusation, though she did not lose the smile that brightened up the room in the absence of the ceiling light. Chuckling at her, he let his vision fall on the shelf on his way towards the bed. "And I was trying not to fall on my ass out in the hallway, thank you very much."

Judy clicked her tongue at him, turning her head and pointing her nose up into the air. She went back to watching the movie, the audio coming out of the laptop in a hushed murmur. "And you say _I_ can't hold my own," she replied, bobbing her head from side-to-side playfully.

Not bothering to turn around to look at her, Nick paused in front of the shelf. "You can't."

It was quiet for a few seconds, but before long, he could feel her eyes burning into his back, glaring at him. The fox just chuckled as he looked over the mess they had made. Dishes and pots were piled in an unorderly fashion, strewn about every single one of the shelves with reckless disregard. Looking at the mess, it was clear that they were not perhaps entirely sober when it counted. If he had not had the good sense to apply a waterproof lacquer to the already beaten wood, they would have throw the thing out ages ago, as food material and pooling spills of nondescript liquid and eggnog were _everywhere_.

He couldn't help but lightly shake his head at the mess. Considering the state of the rest of the apartment, it wasn't exactly out of place, but neither was it particularly sanitary. The smell was already pretty bad, and it would only get worse come morning. Sighing, the fox stepped up to the shelf and peered down into the pot of eggnog, finding it surprisingly empty. His brow furrowed in thought and he rapped his clawed fingers on the edge of the wood, coming to the conclusion that they had probably had enough for the evening. After a quick search through the piles of used kitchen tools, he put a lid over the top of the pot and closed it.

As soon as it was closed, he went to retrieve a mug from the top shelf for some water, but halted halfway through the motion, his eyes falling on the black plastic coffee machine that was pushed up to the back of his level. There was a moment of deliberation as he studied the old machine, the stained glass pot sitting idly where it had likely not moved since he left. Finally, Nick dropped his paw back down from the top shelf and pulled out the machine, situating it in the forefront of the space. Turning, he looked back over to the bed to ask Judy if she wanted any, but his words died somewhere in his throat once he saw her.

There was nothing particularly special about how she was sitting. In fact, she had hardly moved at all since he had walked through the door, but regardless he found himself speechless once she was the center of his attention. Her pupils were large in the dark room, the lavender irises shining brightly around the deep black pools that reflected bits of the movie back at him. The bunny wasn't even looking at him, her attention squarely on the makeshift screen, and she had her pale green blanket wrapped around her legs and hind paws, her arms wrapped around her chest to keep the warmth trapped under a comically oversized sweater.

Nick had just now noticed that she was still wearing it, despite the fact that she had claimed otherwise, and for whatever reason his drunken mindset had him firmly believing that she had chosen to keep wearing it with _him_. He was so distracted by the thought that he did not even notice her glancing back over to him, seemingly feeling his eyes on her. It took her actually frowning at him before his eyes snapped up from the sweater to meet her gaze, seeing that she was scrutinizing him harshly from across the room.

Judy pulled her arms tighter around her chest. "What?" she asked, her voice slurred slightly.

Blinking, the fox was only momentarily confused, but eventually he was ripped from his thoughts and dropped right back into the present, realizing that he was—yet again—staring at her. "You're still wearing it." As he stumbled awkwardly over his words, he raised a paw up to point at her chest. Quickly he realized how it must have looked from her point of view and made a conscious effort to completely change his demeanor, playing off the awkward stammering as a purposeful move. An easy smile crept up his muzzle and he flashed her the tips of his teeth with lidded eyes. "I guess that means you really _do_ care."

Judy narrowed her eyes at him before scoffing loudly, causing the smile on the fox's face to fall away completely. "Don't scoff at me," he said, placing his paws on his hips. He narrowed his own eyes, matching her indignant glare for everything that she had. The challenging glare had the bunny leering harder, lifting up her head so that she was staring at him down the length of her short muzzle. Nick kept his stance where it was, squaring his shoulders at her defiantly before waving one of his paws between them. "This is a really big deal."

For a moment, the air between them sparked with the harsh glares propelled at each other, but it only took a second for it all to evaporate as soon as Judy cracked up, an enormous, toothy smile breaking through her features and reaching all the way to her eyes. Nick deflated as he watched her giggle, his easy, lidded smile returning to him.

"Are you coming back over here or what?" she said between fits of mirth, jerking her head behind her with her eyes still fixed to his. A devious smile slowly came over Judy's muzzle and she wrapped her arms around her chest dramatically, lacing her next words thoroughly with theatricality. "You've been gone too long, and it's gotten all cold again." She rolled her shoulders and gave him an exaggerated shiver, grimacing as if she had not been acting completely fine a few seconds prior.

A quick breath that fell somewhere between a scoff and a chuckle escaped Nick's mouth and he shook his head, drinking in her performance, amused. Her acting skills were not enough to sway his mind, though, and he turned back away from her, moving to continue preparing the coffee machine. "Sometimes I just think you love me for my body heat," he mumbled, a large smile sapping the words of any edge. The fox was flipping open the plastic lid on the top of the machine when he glanced over his shoulder, meeting her watchful gaze. "Do you want any?"

Judy blinked for a moment, reorienting herself in the present before a smile spread up her face again. "Not unless you want to put a dash of it in a cup of milk and sugar," she said, shaking her head. Nick hummed back, turning away to look down into the workings of the machine, and finding it completely clean. With a practiced ease, his paws shot out to various point on the shelf to retrieve several different items: a disposable coffee filter, a bag of ground beans, and a mostly empty half-gallon of water that was kept on the bottom shelf. "I can't believe you're making a pot right now. It's like almost midnight, you know that, right?"

Humming in thought, Nick uncapped the half-gallon and started pouring water into the machine, filling the reservoir. He watched the water level rise with lidded eyes, breathing in long takes of air around the machine. It smelled like it had been stained with the scent of ground beans, the strong odor of earthy and bitter tones reaching out from the black plastic in waves. "Almost midnight?" he asked lazily, cocking an eyebrow without turning his head in her direction. Nick clicked his tongue as a crooked smile reached up the length of one side of his muzzle, shaking his head. "Goodness gracious sakes alive, how the time has just passed me by."

The bunny giggled behind him, her breathy voice louder and slurred with the alcohol running through her body. It was a sound that Nick enjoyed probably a little more than he should, and it brought with it that same feeling that was becoming more and more familiar. "Shut _up_ ," she said, a smile so large on her face that the fox did not have to see her to know it was there. The sound had the crooked smile reaching the rest of the way it needed to crinkle the edges of his eyes, and he tilted his snout to the side to give her a sideways glance. "I said that _once_! You don't hear me making fun of you for sounding like–"

"I've come straight out of an ivy league college?" he asked, cutting her off and raising his eyebrows to give her an amused look.

Her smile grew wider as she stared at him, her buck teeth shining brightly through the dim apartment. Judy pulled her lips together and hummed, quirking her head to the side to match his sideways gaze. "I was going to say a sleazy, downtown bar, but sure," she said, eyelids heavy on her lavender orbs. "We can go with that."

Nick chuckled and turned back around to the machine, allowing his eyes to fall back on the black plastic, replacing the lid back onto the half-gallon jug. "The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem, my carrot-picking friend," he said, discarding the plastic container off to the side. Nick was leisurely preparing the machine, but every single one of his moves were deliberate, being able to make a pot of coffee easily even if he was blackout drunk. He was stuffing the paper filter into place with a drowsy grin on his muzzle when he turned back to look at her. "I'm sure all it would take is a couple speech therapy courses to at least minimize that drawl your country tail has got."

"Ha!" she called back to him, jerking her head to the side like he had just insulted her. Her indignation was short lived, though, and she looked back in his direction without turning her head. "Admit it, Slick," she mumbled, fluttering her eyelashes and pulling one of her paws free to lay flat on her chest, above her heart. "You _love_ the way I talk." Judy moved her head around in time with her words, her mouth parted softly and her pink tongue moving in an exaggerated fashion, coming to a close when she added emphasis to the last syllable.

The fox was momentarily mesmerized by her movement, which was probably exactly what she intended to happen. Nick's jaw snapped shut loudly and he hummed as he turned back to the machine with the bag of ground coffee in his paw. "Get over yourself," he said, attempting to sound amused rather than hypnotized. The sound of her giggling again was not helping his clouded thoughts, and he tried to shake the feeling that was reaching back up from his stomach.

Tipping over the bag, he shook a small pile of deep brown power into the paper filter, the scent of the dark roast beans billowing out and into the fox's sensitive snout. Nick took in long breaths of air in an effort to distract his thoughts, concentrating on the smell of coffee. The scent had an immediate clearing effect on his mind, pulling him out of the haze that lingered around his vision. "I am not obligated to like everything about you just because we're friends," he said, finally having a firm grasp on the present. Turning his head, he gave her the most convincing lidded smirk he could muster. "For starters, I think you could take it easy on all the running."

Judy scoffed at that, a sound that had his crooked smile returning once again. He shot a glance over his shoulder as he shook the machine to level out the pile of ground beans, flashing his incisors her way. "Oh, yeah?" she asked. Nick had expected to see an indignant glare, but found himself staring right into the eyes of a bunny that thought she was victorious. The self-satisfactory curl to her lips had the fox's own tapering off. Judy just narrowed her eyes and quirked her nose up into the air, urging him to continue. "What else?"

The grin was completely gone now, replaced by a frown that reached all the way down to his neck. Slowly, he returned his attention to the machine just in time to throw the lid back down onto the top. Nick's mind was going a lot faster than his inebriated brain could handle, desperately reaching for something else to castigate her on, and was coming up with nothing. His brow quickly knit on his forehead when he found that he still could not think of anything, the realization that every moment he did not say anything, Judy's ego was getting a pat on the head. "Other things..." he said awkwardly, his paw coming up to comb the cream colored fur of his neck.

He could hear her hum in mock agreement. "Right," she drawled out, stretching the 'i' sound for several seconds. " _Other_ things." Nick's head turned around hesitantly, taking in the victorious grin on her features. Judy had propped herself up on her arms and was staring at him with lidded eyes, her lopsided grin displaying her buck teeth fully. Seeing that he was giving her a look, she shrugged her shoulders. " _Besides_ the running."

Nick shot out a quick breath through his snout, looking away from her. "Sure, sure," he said, nodding his head. "Plenty of… other things." He tried to ignore the pair of triumphant eyes he could feel on his back and went to work punching several buttons on the face of the machine. When the blue light failed to turn on, he reached into the back of the shelf and flipped on the power strip that had been mounted on the wood, the red light of the switch flickering on. Nick took a step back and observed the blue light on the front of the coffee machine. Satisfied, he turned around to see Judy was still staring at him, lids curled upwards. "Don't give me that look."

She didn't even bother to try and seem innocent, shrugging her shoulders lightly and shaking her head. "I have _no idea_ what you're talking about."

Scoffing, the fox turned his back towards her with an air of finality, letting his full attention fall onto the machine that was quickly whirring to life. "Whatever you say, Fluff," he grumbled, the breathy giggle that emanated from behind him making his frown go deeper. He was discovering he was making a habit of losing the kind of game she was playing, and he couldn't tell if he should be bitter or proud. Maybe he'd settle on both.

With no more words to say, the odd pair of mammals fell into a comfortable silence within the cold air of the apartment. In that moment, Nick allowed his clouded mind to drink in the permeations of sound, acclimatizing himself once again to the immensely calming atmosphere. The wind outside still howled through the blanketed streets, coming in a gentle tempo that betrayed its ferocity just beyond the thin pane of glass. More prominent was the quiet noise of the movie playing through the speakers in the laptop, cutting through the air clearly even at such a low volume.

They had enjoyed a lot of movie nights like this, comfortable and quiet with the movie almost muted, their sensitive ears allowing them to enjoy the films without being loud. It was a marvel to Nick the things that Judy was particular about. It seemed like she never had a problem with being loud when they were speaking or hanging out, blissfully either unaware or indifferent to the company they kept just beyond the paper thin walls. However, when it came to other things – movies, music, and the such – she was always pretty skittish about playing at high volumes. It was like the idea that other mammals were being annoyed by it ruined her enjoyment, and it was somehow both admirable and endearing to the fox.

Nick wondered what it was like for her to grow up in Bunnyburrow as he started at the coffee machine, the mechanisms finally crackling to life. The thought had crossed his mind a few times, and he couldn't help but remember her room and the hallway packed with doors, all pushed together a ridiculous amount. Maybe playing stuff loudly was ingrained into her as she grew up in those conditions, almost like she had _always_ lived in an apartment. It was probably the most logical guess, but he couldn't help but stick with the thought that she was just that great of a mammal, always more concerned with others than herself.

Focus, unfortunately, continued to elude him in his state of inebriation. The alcohol running through his body had just begun truly fading in effect, and he was thankful for it, but he was still far from clear. Nick just found himself struggling to recover his cognisance as he stared at the croaking machine in front of him, forcing every bit of sobriety he could muster. There were moments when it would feel like he was making progress, but they had varying levels of success and duration. Other times, he would wake up from a trance without any clue as to how long it had lasted, and he ended up just shaking his head in irritation.

It was becoming painfully clear to him that he had precious little time before he would be gone again, and he really wanted to be clear-headed for every moment of it. Another stifled hiss from inside the machine brought his full attention back to the present, and his eyes drowsily fell onto the rapidly filling pot, the dark, rich liquid coming in sputtering waves into the container. Compared to the cold air of the apartment, the scalding coffee was practically radiant, and it along with the accompanying machine sent billows of water vapor out in droves. The clouds rose up to shelf above it and spread out in all directions, spilling upwards after reaching the edge up into the air.

"Why _are_ you making a pot of coffee?" Judy's voice caught Nick's ears before his brain, and they swiveled backwards on his skull to meet the noise. The rest of his head followed some seconds later, after he was sure that she really had said something. When he turned back, the bunny was staring at him from across the room with an unreadable expression. "Are we out of eggnog?"

Blinking, Nick finally wrested control back from whatever forgotten thoughts had been occupying his mind, and relaxed his features back into his signature, smug grin. " _Because_ , Carrots," he said, rolling his head around in time with his words as if it was a stupid question. Before continuing, Nick turned back to the shelf. "I for one do not enjoy feeling like I am going to topple over myself from just walking down a straight hallway." The giggle that emanated from behind him had the fox huffing out a breath in annoyance, but it also had his smug grin softening.

When she was done laughing, he waved his paw into the air. "We're being cut off on the account of the fact that I don't want to spend Christmas morning with a hangover. No more for the rest of the night," Nick said, completely serious. A playful edge was present in his tone, but there was no doubt that he wasn't joking, which made the bunny behind him stifle her laughter and scoff in indignation. The fox pivoted his body sideways and pointed at her with narrow eyes. "I will hear none of it; you get water or coffee. Maybe some orange juice if there is still some in the fridge-"

"There's vodka in that."

Nick blinked while still pointing at Judy, who had gone back to watching the movie. His brow furrowed as he turned his head to look at the fridge. "Why is there vodka in the orange juice?" he asked, shooting a sideways glance back in her direction.

Judy just shrugged, pulling the blanket wrapped around her a little tighter. "It's from the Christmas party at work. Fangmeyer brought in a bunch of mixed drinks under the Chief's nose and handed them out as presents." A brief moment passed before she turned to meet his gaze, and seeing that he was just staring at her with a cocked brow, she rolled her shoulders and tossed her paw out towards the fridge. "That was the fruitiest one."

Scoffing, the fox shook his slowly as he turned back to the shelf, returning to the brewing coffee. Nick studied the drizzling, dark liquid begin to taper off from its steady pour as the pot began to reach its desired levels. Occasionally, it stiff croaked and hissed at him, and the plastic creaked from the dramatic change in temperature. It was a wonder the thing even worked at all, with how cheap it had been. "Okay…" he said nasally. "You have your choice of water or coffee. What'll it be?"

An exasperated breath escaped Judy's snout, and Nick did not have to look at her to see that she had grown frustrated. "Just grab whatever and get that fluffy tail back over here to warm me up from the brink of death!"

Nick's lips pulled upwards on one side of his long muzzle, parting enough to proudly display his collection of teeth. He chuckled lightly, keeping his vision fixed on the machine, his lidded eyes sparkling in amusement. "Always gotta make it about you, don't ya?" he droned, barely above a whisper.

"What was that?" Judy asked, her tone clearly indicating that she had actually heard his hushed quip.

Tilting his head back towards her, he kept his eyes forward. "I was commenting on how I should hurry up, lest my favorite bunny actually freezes."

Judy hummed loudly, the vibrations cutting through the cold air and hitting Nick's sensitive ears clearly, making them involuntarily perk up. Following the reaction, he turned his head more to the side so he could give her a sideways glance. She was watching him with narrow eyes, the ghost of a smile pulling her lips up in a crooked curl. "That's what I _thought_ I heard," she said, trusting a warning finger in his direction.

A moment passed before Nick just broke out into a dry chuckle, turning away from the rabbit with a subtle shake in his snout. His attention was soon superficially captured once again by the brewing coffee. Try as he might, his attempts at sobriety were still falling short in keeping the room from spinning. It was admittedly much better than it was only a couple minutes ago, but it was about this time that Nick was beginning to really wish for the machine to hurry up. He could practically taste the caffeine in the air now, and every fruitless lap at his dry lips filled his bones with anticipation.

In an effort to take his mind off of it, he dug around in his pocket to retrieve his new phone. He tapped the power button for the screen to come on, making the fox squint his eyes at the almost painfully bright light. Spending a moment looking at the time and a few other things, he decided that he no longer needed to keep it on him, and deposited it on the edge of the cluttered desk. Nick watched the glossy screen reflect the movie as well as the vibrant lights of the Christmas tree before turning back to the brewing liquid.

Coffee was the nectar of the Gods in this very moment, at least, as far as Nick was concerned. It was filled with that beautiful drug, had a taste that sent his tongue to heaven, and most import of all, it was _warm_. The cold air was taking its toll on his body, and the anticipation grew so much that he reached up to the shelf above and retrieved another mug, preparing it to be filled the very moment the pot was ready. In the same vein of thought, he grabbed a second mug from the shelf and placed it next to the first. They were the last mugs, and were, in fact, two of the last remaining clean dishes. Somehow, it had worked out alright, in a weird sort of way.

Nick ultimately decided on coffee for him and water for Judy, not liking her odds of being able to sleep anytime in the near future if she partook in the caffeinated goodness. He'd just turn the hotplate back on in the morning as to not waste the pot. In a fluid motion, still keeping one eye on the machine sputtering out the last of the infused liquid, the fox swiped up the half-gallon of water and poured the remnants into one of the mugs. Frowning at the drips of water tapering off from the plastic container, Nick brought the mouth up to his muzzle to peer inside, and he found only speckles.

Grumbling, he tossed the now-empty container off the the side. The next couple moments of silently willing the machine to finish its cycle were now occupied with thoughts of an arid hangover in the morning. He supposed they could always scoop up some snow and melt it in a pot if they felt bad enough, but hopefully they wouldn't be cursing cognisance come morning. Lost in his thoughts, he was startled by the loud, high-pitched beep that cut through the air. His ears rose to their full height and he looked onto the machine for a moment before quickly thrusting his paw out to the handle, and ripping the pot away as fast as he could without spilling it.

He was accurate even in his haste, the dark liquid pouring smoothly out of the pot and into the waiting mug without any issue. Nick's snout was immediately filled with the earthy scent of coffee, sending his head back into his neck as he became lightheaded at the sensation. An incredibly visible cloud of vapor billowed above the contents of the cup and out of small gaps in the plastic lid of the pot, and Nick's paw felt the warmth emanating from the glass and licking his knuckles. He knew better than to try to take a sip now, but the sight of the chocolaty foam resting on the rocking black surface of the coffee almost had him tempting fate.

He spend a moment watching the coffee settle as he slowly replaced the pot onto the hotplate, taking long drags of the air to capture every whiff of the home-brewed stuff. It was heavenly compared to the cafeteria joe and Snarlbucks. Just another thing to add to the list of stuff he'd miss once he left again. Even though his task was complete, Nick lingered in front of the shelf for a moment, drinking in the abhorrent mess one more time. Strangle, he couldn't bring himself to dread the eventual effort that they would have to put into cleaning it all up. Instead, the clutter of used dishes and cooking utensils just had him smiling like an idiot.

Taking in a long breath of air, Nick sighed, his lopsided smile having long since softened into something that could be mistaken for genuine happiness if he was not careful. Finally satisfied, he picked up both mugs and wasted no time in turning back towards Judy. He was in no hurry to reach her (even though he was), instead slowing the couple steps it would take to go from the shelf to the bed to an almost snail's pace. Regardless of his apparent need to find a respite from the chilling atmosphere, he kept his advance slow and deliberate, giving him all the time he would need to study the rabbit before him.

Judy had once again been absorbed in the movie, only this time one of her paws had come up from its tight hold on herself to prop up her chin, elevating it higher than it would usually rest so that she was watching the projection down the length of her short nose, through lidded eyes. She was still wrapped up in the thick sweater and blankets, looking the picture of comfort. Nick felt warmer just looking at her, but what seemed to make his body, face, and ears burn was the shimmering jewels hanging off her neck. The purple and silver glistened beautifully in the dim light, just like her eyes, and for what must have been the millionth time, that feeling was back.

Deciding not to dwell on it, Nick made a point of masking the confused feelings with an easy, laid-back expression, one he wore all too well. His advance did catch the bunny's interest, though, causing Nick's crimson beanie to hike up on her head thanks to her trapped ears as she glanced over to him. Meeting her look with raised eyebrows when he had finally reached the edge of the bed, he struggled to climb up onto the mattress with both paws occupied. Once he had, Nick continued moving towards her on his knees, finally offering both mugs out towards her when he was sufficiently on the bed.

It took Judy a moment to realize that he wanted her to hold them, but finally she released her hold over her own body and accepted the mugs. What Nick did next had the rabbit squeak out in surprise, having grabbed onto both of her ankles through the blankets. His easy grin spread further up both sides of his muzzle as realization spread over her face, and just as she was about to protest, he carefully pulled her off the wall and further down the bed, prompting another squeak to escape her surprised features. He made sure to not pull her hard enough to make spill the coffee, but it was still a decent pace.

Judy waved her elbows out to keep her balance without jerking the mugs, and she wobbled for a moment before fully recovering. Once she did, her head snapped up to the fox so that she could glower at him, brow furrowed and lips pulled into a tight line. Nick just laughed as he released her. He waddled around her side on his knees, bouncing the bunny with every shift of his weight, making her thrust the mugs away from her body so she wouldn't get burned. Finally, he twisted his weight around and plopped down behind her, his legs spread out in either direction so she was practically sitting in his lap.

Far from settled, his next course of action was to place on of his paws across her shoulder blades and lightly coax her downwards. Initially confused by the unspoken demand, she turned her head around to gaze at him, to which he replied only by tugging on the sweater with his other paw. Judy cocked a brow, but ultimately accepted his request, coming down onto her legs like she was stretching. She held out the mugs towards her hind paws, and for a moment, Nick marveled at her flexibility. He had pushed her so far down that her tail was now pointing straight at the ceiling, which had the fox reprimanding himself for looking at it.

Once her chest was comfortable flush with her legs, or as flush as she could be coaxed into going, Nick wasted no time in pulling up the hem of the sweater and diving for the opening. It was an especially odd position, both of the mammals now leaning forward as one tried to squirm into the two-mammal sweater, and it was not without its awkwardness. For starters, Nick had to hunch his spine before he could even think of pushing his long snout up into the warm fabric, not to mention doing it in a way that didn't entail rubbing up against the rabbit in front of him so much. It was only after he had struggled for several seconds did he think there might have been an easier way to climb back into the piece of clothing.

About the time he was sliding his pointed head up Judy's back towards the sweater's neck, did the rabbit in question begin to giggle uncontrollably, bouncing Nick's head up and down as he struggled further. "This is like a yoga position or something," she happily exclaimed, turning her head around to talk to him even though he was still trapped inside. Finally making progress, the end of his snout poked out of the opening, just making his nose and half of his muzzle visible. He was snaking his arms up either side of Judy's body when she spoke again. "We should take yoga! I bet you'd be really good at it. You're pretty spry for an old dog."

Nick huffed out a dry breath while pulling one of his arms through a sleeve. "Watch it, cottontail," he said, an amused hum in his voice. Their newfound closeness sent waves of Judy's scent through Nick's senses, the most of which was felt when he was dragging his snout up her spine. The freshness of it was striking, having been practically tied to its source for the majority of the evening before now, and the overwhelming crash made it difficult for the fox to concentrate.

Once one arm was fully through the sleeve, and he was able to pull the fabric of the sweater over his hunched back, Nick began straightening up slowly, pulling Judy along with him as he went. Halfway through, gravity allowed the rest of his head and neck to pop out into view, the sweater falling away onto his shoulders and displaying a hefty amount of disheveled fur. He was settled back into the brick wall when he looked back down at Judy, seeing that she was watching the movie, completely unconcerned about the whole ordeal. Nick just hummed to himself as he pushed his other arm through the sleeve.

Almost immediately, he found himself in complete bliss. The warmth of the fabric that had been nestled directly up to Judy, and Judy's warmth itself, had Nick believing for a brief moment that he was warmed up to his core. The initial feeling did not last for more than a few seconds, though, and the frigid feeling that clung to his limbs returned, though it was slowly diminishing. Nick went to work reorganizing the blankets to lay across both sets of hind paws, hooking his tail around to rest over their knees underneath it all. When he was done, he examined his work for a moment as he ran his paw over the top of his head and around his neck, straightening the fur.

It had only realistically been less than twenty minutes since he was where he currently found himself, but the cold always had a way in making time drag by at an exhaustingly sluggish rate. Regardless, Nick was incredibly relieved to be back, and he slowly slumped back into the brick wall, relaxing his body to fit their tangled positions. At the same moment his head thumped back against the jagged red bricks, Judy also relaxed back into him, squirming further into his lap to fit like a puzzle piece. Nick sighed, letting his eyes fall onto the makeshift screen across the small apartment.

After a long list of other movies, they had settled on Jurassic Park. Nick's collection was certainly vast, though it lacked a certain level of modern appeal. Most of the selection were what he would call "timeless classics", though it just so happened to be that almost all of them were now twenty years old or more. His attention did not remain on the screen for long, as movement below him caught his eyes with ease. Judy was sitting back against him, still holding both of the mugs, but the one that she rose up to take a sip from was not her water, but Nick's coffee. The fox arched a brow as she took a slow sip off the foam and black liquid.

He almost couldn't stop the burst of hearty laughter when he could see her features scrunch up excessively even from his angle. Judy ripped the mug away from her lips and swallowed with a mix between a painful and disgusted expression twisting her face. "Oh, _sweet cheese_ and _crackers_ , that is awful," she said after gasping for air and scrutinizing the mug in distaste. "It's like you're drinking tar."

The dry chuckle that emanated out of his chest lightly bounced the bunny leaning against him. "What the hell did you expect? You've tasted my coffee before, and now you're acting all surprised?"

Judy turned her head to give Nick a sideways glare. "They're supposed to be better than the regular beans that you get." She lifted the mug up further into the air as if to emphasize her point. "I bought them while I was at the store, and the bag said it was organic." With a quiet huff and a glare at the black liquid, she thumped her head back against Nick's chest. "I just thought it wouldn't taste like I'm sucking on a fuel line."

Nick blew a breath of air out of his nose. "Dork." Keeping to the blankets as much as possible, he reached out in front of himself and took the mug filled with coffee from her. With his other paw, he tapped the bottom of her mug with a clawed finger, coaxing her to lift it up to her lips. "Don't be so dramatic. Here."

Rolling her head around on his chest to look up at the underside of his muzzle, Judy smiled up at him. "Thanks," she said, closing the gap between her lips and the mug.

For a moment, they both just settled back into the norm that their closeness had somehow become. Nick put special care into regaining the feeling in his outer extremities, wiggling his fingers and toes around as much as he could. He was still in the process of rhythmically waving his toes when he realized that he didn't want to just set his mug off to the side. Having nowhere else to really put it, he awkwardly enclosed both of his paws around the warm ceramic and lowered them into the only place comfortable, right in front of Judy's own paws enclosed around her mug, in _her_ lap. It was almost like a hug, and the thought had Nick's throat feeling dry and that same feeling boiling back to the surface.

Nick tried to distract himself from their arrangement by focusing back on the movie. If Judy had noticed any of it at all, she had not reacted. "So," he said, trying not to sound like he was uniquely conscious about every inch of his body touching her's. "Where are we right now?"

"I haven't been paying attention," Judy admitted. "I think we're after that kangaroo getting killed by the raptors."

Humming, he was still finding that he was becoming more and more rigid, the relaxation having fallen away. He couldn't just retract his paws now, Judy would undoubtedly notice the awkwardness of it.. Nick was locked in, and he was feeling desperate to get his mind off of it. So, he opted, like most other times he found himself in a situation like this, to distract them both with humor. "Damn. I was going to pounce you at the same time as the raptor."

Judy snorted and took another sip of her water. When she brought her paws back down, they were even closer to his than they were. "You'd have regretted it, Slick. I'm not against knocking you out on Christmas."

Her words had Nick's brow raise up on his forehead, and he tilted his head to the side to give the bunny an amused look. "You really think I couldn't overpower you?"

"Overpower?" she asked, as if she wasn't sure about the answer herself. Finally, she shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe…" Judy's voice trailed off, but she leaned forward so that she could turn and flash Nick a devilish smile, her brows mirroring Nick's. "Outmatch? Well, you could always put your money where your mouth is and test that little theory."

Nick stared at her for a few moments as a smile crept its way across his long muzzle. When she cocked her head in challenge, he just answered with tickled exhale. "That is a question I do not need answered," he said, opening one of his paws in surrender and leaning back into the wall behind him. Judy just made a triumphant hum and followed his recline.

Now they were properly back to how it was before he had left, they both settled back into watching the movie. Sure enough, the two fawns Lex and Tim were loading up their plates in the cafeteria with all manner of desserts, coming closer and closer to the climax of the movie. If Nick was to be honest, he'd admit that he really didn't like any of the Jurassic Park movies very much. Something about the viciousness they attributed towards the admittedly carnivorous dinosaurs never did sit with him the right way. That and the fact that Dennis Nedry was played by an overweight fox. Leave it to Hawkywood to cast a vulpine into the role of a mammal that betrayed everyone for money.

As the movie dragged on, and the raptors made their final appearance in the culmination, Nick found himself not paying attention. His mind was far more focused on other things, like the long day that had preceded their current position. It would seem that he was in the habit of having long days, which made him wonder how he had even had the time to reach thirty. Still, this one wasn't like the plethora of other excruciatingly unending times. It was far and beyond more pleasant than probably all of the other ones put together. This, of course, made it all the more disappointing that the day was rapidly reaching its end.

If he had been told only half a year ago that he would be holding onto every second of Christmas Eve, grasping desperately to keep it all from slipping by too fast, he would have called whoever it was insane. Christmas for a long time now been a sore spot in his years, lethargically wishing that it would just be over as soon as possible so that he could start hustling again, most times spending almost the entire day hold up from the snowstorms in some drainpipe of subterranean refuge with a bottle of liquor. Perhaps it was not in his best interest to dwell on those times.

One thing that he couldn't shake from his mind, though, was Judy. Practically _anything_ —even just being sober and warm—would have been an improvement on his past Christmases. That was not the case for Judy, who undoubtedly spent the last two decades experiencing some kind of Hallmark Christmas fever-dream, with grand feasts of medieval scope and enough family to make any sane mammal sick to death. Nick knew it to be a rabbit thing, which was why the worry was again eating away at his conscience. Their evening, while exceptionally pleasant in his opinion, was definitely _not_ very rabbit-like.

Nick's thoughts were drawn away from his internal debate when a violent gale howled across the side of their building, the wind whipping between the tall faces of brick and glass with roarous strength. His eyes would catch clusters of snowflakes when the projector grew brighter, casting the light further out into the flurry sheltered by darkness to put on display the volume of snow falling onto the streets below. Despite the fervor of the storm, it only added to the peaceful atmosphere that enveloped the apartment. It was strange to think how in the past, he would dread storms like these, but now he found himself wishing that it wouldn't stop, and make him stay in the city for another week at least.

Another strong gust sent a shiver through the falling snow, making them flutter wildly in the torrential wind, but Nick's attention did not last. Below him, Judy was taking another sip of her water, and when she was done, she lowed her paws back into her lap, brushing up against his. Her smallest movements enticed his attention from this distance, and he felt the lack of distance between them now more than ever. Acutely aware of his movements, the fox took a sip of his own drink, savoring the bitter liquid in his mouth for a few seconds before swallowing, and when he returned his paws to Judy's lap, he took extra care in placing them down _exactly_ where they had been.

It was stiff and awkward, but it was not without its positives in Nick's opinion. He was by no means uncomfortable, but the fact remained that he had staggeringly little experience in this kind of thing. Which was one of the reasons that he could still not identify that nagging feeling creeping up from his stomach, he reckoned. It was like the feeling was attached to the distance between them. When the gap was closed, whatever it was blossomed with ease, sending his thoughts into a jumbled mess of confused rationalizations and a complete floundering of coherent thought. Despite that, it seemed worse when the gap widened.

Nick was in the middle of taking another sip of coffee – still paying little, if any, attention to the movie – when Judy stirred again. This time, the rabbit downed what little water remained in her mug and discarded it off to the side. She struggled for a moment with the blanket before yanking a good amount of it free from the twisted folds and pulling it over her shoulders, shrinking her neck to hold the it in place with her chin and crossing her arms. Nick watched her continued retreat into the covers with mild amusement. He took one more gulp of his coffee before returning the cradled mug to Judy's lap, but this time, his arms pulled closer around her.

They remained like that for several moments in complete silence, passively watching the movie they had both seen half a dozen times play out. Every corner of the space they found themselves in emanated a feeling so tranquil that Nick could hardly believe it. He found himself more times than not staring out the window to watch the snow pass silently through the dark, feeling a distilled sense of peace so foreign and yet so easy for him to get lost in. Even the cold air that clung to their mass of blankets and cradling libs could not rob the two of their harmony.

Nick was still staring out the window when he finally found his voice again, which came out like he was talking to himself more than anyone else. "Did you like your Christmas?"

He could feel Judy grab onto the blanket before rolling her head around his chest to look up at the underside of his muzzle. "Is there any reason I _wouldn't_ like it?" she asked.

Chewing on the inside of his cheek for a moment, Nick thought about all the reasons he had come up with in his silence. "Well," he said, starting off slow. "I mean, I'm not exactly three hundred rabbits that you've known for your whole life." The fox shrugged his shoulder non-committedly before taking an awkward sip of his coffee. "I was just hoping that I did a good enough job giving you… you know… A decent holiday?"

Judy didn't respond right away, which made Nick's ear twitch in anticipation. Instead, she shifted back down into his chest, turning her head back towards the movie. "Do you have any idea how many family members are at my warren during the holidays?" she asked thoughtfully.

"Three hundred, right?"

"Wrong," she replied. Nick tilted his head to give her a look, waiting for her to go on. "I'm twenty four, Nick, and I am not even close to being the oldest among my siblings. I have two _hundred_ and seventy-five brothers and sisters. Can you guess how many of those had kits of their own?"

It took a moment for Judy's words to set in, but realization had Nick's brow raising far above his lidded eyes. "Oh," he said lamely.

Judy chuckled at that, her airly breaths jostling her lightly on his chest. "Yeah…" Her voice trailed off into the apartment's air, just barely audible. In the background, the two fawns were scrambling around the kitchen to hide from the velociraptors in the movie. Neither of them were really watching it, though. The bunny started talking again after a time, her voice far away. "Now, a lot of them don't come for one reason or another, but plenty more visit during the holiday or even stay there. The ones that have kits can't just leave them behind, so our burrow is so crowded during the holidays that it is not even funny."

"I used to spend the morning with my younger family and then scamper off to my friend Sharla's house for lunch just to get some peace and quiet. I'd go back home for dinner of course, but I was always looking for ways to get away for a little bit." As Judy spoke, she sunk further into Nick's chest, insulating herself completely from the cold except for her face. Nick could see that she was smiling at the memory, her nose twitching every few seconds in thought. "As chaotic as it was at times, though, it was always really nice to spend time with the mammals that I care about."

For a moment, Nick felt a pang of trepidation, fearing that she was going to backtrack her words in an attempt to rephrase them to make him feel better, which would have probably just made him feel worse. To his surprise, Judy pushed off his chest far enough to twist around and look directly at him, which caught his thoughts in the trap of her eyes. She was searching his green orbs when she reached out one of her paws and lightly placed it on his chest, above his heart. "That hasn't changed this Christmas. I'm still spending time with a mammal I care about, and you have no reason to worry. You've made this one of the best Christmases ever."

Nick didn't react at first, just trading his vision between her lavender eyes and the paw she had placed on him. It took a good amount of time before her words sunk in, but as soon as it did, he could feel the constricting feeling of doubt begin to soften inside him. Nick almost didn't like how vulnerable he undoubtedly looked at that moment, but the way that Judy smiled reassuringly at him quelled any nagging sense to put his mask back on. The muscles in his face lost their tension in a slow transition into his ordinary, lidded smile. "That's high praise for a fox that has no idea what he's doing," he said.

A soft huff escaped Judy's lips before she twisted around and flopped back down onto his chest, wrestling with the blankets to get them back over her shoulders. When she was done reinstating her fortress against the cold, she chuckled to herself, making Nick arch a brow as his smile grew wider. "I hope you realize," she murmured happily, tilting her head upward without looking at him. "That we are going to be spending _every_ Christmas together from now on."

Nick hummed questioningly as he pulled his arms back around her. "That did not sound like a suggestion."

"It wasn't," she replied. "While I may be used to almost five hundred mammals mulling around our warren, you haven't celebrated this holiday in a long time, have you? If you ask me, the pressure was on me a lot more than it was on you. I had to make up for almost twenty years of crummy holidays." As if effected on by her own words, the bunny grew silent. She seemed to think for a few seconds before looking up at the underside of Nick's muzzle with furrowed brows. "Was _your_ Christmas good?"

Nick couldn't help but laugh. "I'd say it was something of an improvement."

At that, Judy made an incredulous sound, narrowing her eyes when he turned slightly to give her with a sideways glance. "That's not saying much, Wilde," she retorted. "Give me something else to go on."

Running his tongue over the tips of his canines, Nick thought about how best to answer her question. "Okay…" he said, drawing the word out as he nodded his head. "How about this." Wanting to get a better angle, the fox used his long neck to twist around in front of Judy, so that he could look directly into her eyes. It was a bit awkward, but he managed to get a good enough angle, despite the fact that their noses almost touched when Judy moved to meet his gaze. "There isn't anywhere I would rather be on the whole planet, and there's no one I'd rather spend it with."

They searched each other's eyes for a long moment, allowing Nick's words to hang in the small space between them. "I've had a lot of crappy Christmases, I won't lie to you," he said, continuing in a sincere tone, "but if there is one thing I do know it's that I don't ever think about those days. Sure, they were hard, but I got through them. This Christmas… Unforgettable." The fox allowed his words to to settle for only a brief moment before allowing his smug, lidded smile to return. "Just more proof that you don't crack under pressure," he said, lightly chuckling as he straightened back out and leaned into the bricks behind him.

Judy laughed along with him, letting the subject go with his comment. They were probably both thankful that he had a tendency of disarming potentially embarrassing confessions with humor. Nick took the moment to take another sip of his coffee, letting his eyes fall onto the makeshift projection screen across from them. The movie continued to drag on, with the four mammals in the computer room scrambling to reboot the park's security systems, but honestly Nick wasn't even really watching it. The movie would have the same effect even if it was just a blank wall.

Judy was the one to break the moment. "Next year you should come to Bunnyburrow with me."

Swallowing the muzzleful of warm liquid, Nick looked down at the top of the rabbit's head with a cocked brow. "Didn't you just say there's like _five hundred_ bunnies over there?"

Judy clicked her tongue softly and rolled her head around his chest to meet with gaze with a sassy, lidded smile. "What's the matter, fox?" she asked, pursing her lips together and humming daringly. "Scared of a couple little bunny rabbits?"

Eyes locked, Nick just stared at her for a moment. It was some seconds before he scoffed, shaking his head and lifting his chin to hide the growing smile. "You wish."

Their familiar bout of silent mutual existence returned, and they sat together, just enjoying each other's company. To Nick, it was still something that would seem odd to him if he ever stopped to think about it, but it had become such a routine for them that he hardly ever did. Maybe the fact that something so domestic had become so commonplace in his life in such a short amount of time made is so that he could hardly imagine what it was like before. It was difficult to think about how all those moments of complete isolation were not just normal, but all encompassing during some times of his life.

There was something else about how he was practically cuddling the rabbit in his lap that was so foreign yet had was quickly becoming ordinary; that same feeling had returned, bubbling up from the pit of his stomach and spreading throughout his body in waves of jumbled thoughts and feelings. He could feel it behind his ears now, like a pressure that demanded his attention yet was impossible to grasp. It was what made it so difficult to characterize, as every moment he felt like he had finally caught the feelings to analyze, it slipped right out of his paws. It was beginning to irritate him.

Still basking in the glow of their closeness and the inner turmoil developing from his increasingly elusive subconscious, Nick was broken out of his cycle of thought when Judy shifted between his legs. It almost felt like she was trying to bury herself further into his chest as she tightened her hold on the blanket. Interpreting this as the bunny being cold, he tightened his arms further around her, which seemed to make her just retreat further into him.

When she spoke again, it was barely above a whisper, reflecting that while her eyes may be on the screen in front of them, her thoughts were far away. "I can't believe you have to go back in a couple days."

Her words caught the fox off guard, whose nose snapped downward so that he could look at her down the length of his long snout. "That's the price we pay, Fluff," he replied, watching her lavender eyes lift up to meet his gaze. Nick flashed her an easy smile, tilting his muzzle to the side humorously. "If you want me to be your partner, I have to actually go through the academy."

Judy's nose scrunched up and she huffed out a breath, dropping her head back into place with a pout that had Nick's smile grow wider. "I wish I could have both," she admitted. "It wouldn't be so bad if the academy was closer, but I feel like I hardly get to see you anymore."

Nick shrugged. "Well, we have video chatting now, so you'll get to see me more often."

"We won't get _this_ , though."

Slowly, his smile slid off his features. Nick didn't respond right away, instead just lifting his head back towards the screen. "I guess not."

It was only a moment before Judy started talking again, ripping the fox out of his thoughts. "We should meet more in our free time," she said cheerfully, lifting her head back up to look at the underside of his muzzle. "Go out to lunch a couple times a month."

Nick didn't even have to think about whether he would like that, but he still didn't agree right away. "We could probably make that work," he said, nodding his head. Still, he didn't want to hog all of her free time just so he could spend an hour eating together. She didn't have a vehicle, which would mean that she would have to take the train, and that would probably be a full day for the round trip. "Don't you have other things you want to do in your free time besides spend it with me?" he asked, looking down into her eyes. "Surely you've got some hobbies that I don't really need to be there for."

Retreating from their locked gaze, Judy squirmed awkwardly. "Hobbies…" she repeated, her voice trailing off into the cold air of the apartment. The rabbit chewed on her bottom lip for a long moment before replying. "I've basically been working non-stop since you left, Nick. I don't really… _have_ anyone else like you. All the time we spent together before you left… Well, if you weren't there I would have just been doing all of it on my own. Sitting around on my days off, going on runs, stopping by the store, getting an overpriced drink… Without someone else it's really more of a routine than an activity."

Nick studied her for a long moment, recalling her apparent refusal to use her own kitchen when she only had to worry about herself. The thought actually stirred a sense of growing concern for the rabbit's ability to take care of herself. "What about Clawhauser and all the other mammals at the station?" he asked, his brow furrowing.

She continued to chew on her lip under his scrutiny, only taking quick, fleeting glances up to meet his gaze. "We don't really have all the much in common."

That comment actually made Nick laugh at the absurdity of it. "And we do?" he asked incredulously.

His reaction had Judy finally raising her eyes to meet his for longer than half a second. For a moment, they both just sat there in silence, staring into each other's eyes. The longer it dragged on, the more Nick's incredulous expression fell away to curiosity. Finally, she shrugged. "Maybe we're just different enough for it to work."

Nick snorted, shaking his head as he broke their connected gaze to return to watching the movie. He could feel her eyes on him for a moment longer before she did the same. Honestly, it was not a difficult decision to make; if he had the opportunity to grill her on what she was doing to stay healthy, it was not one he was going to let go. "Lunch a couple times a month…" he said softly, nodding his head and capturing the rabbit's attention. "Okay. That sounds like a plan. You can't pick me up, though."

"What?" she asked, her voice shrill and her brow knitting together as she looked up at him. "Why not?"

Nick raised an eyebrow, tilting his head to give her a sideways glare. "My reputation is just barely recovering from when you dropped in unannounced, Carrots," he said carefully, causing her shoulders to drop slightly and give him a sheepish smile. Satisfied with her reaction, Nick broke out into an amused grin, slumping back against the bricks contently. "Imagine the kind of shit they'd give me if you were rolling up every friday to whisk me away to an afternoon brunch," he commented, chuckling to himself at the thought.

Judy did not seem to take his words as humorously as he did. In fact, she grew particularly quiet after that. Her lack of reaction caught Nick's attention, and even after several moments, she still did not respond. Carefully, the fox tilted his head to the side to look at her, seeing that she was deep in thought. He watched her for what felt like a long time, chewing on her lip with a furrowed brow. When she spoke, her voice squeaked. "Because I'm a rabbit?" she asked, refusing to meet his gaze.

The fox didn't know what to say to that. The way it had come out of Judy, it had sent a pang of guilt throughout the fox, though he did not know why. He continued to scrutinize her until she reluctantly raised her amethyst orbs to him. "Because you're a celebrity cop," he replied evenly, trying to read her thoughts through her eyes.

Judy just stared up at him with worry written out on her features, her brow furrowed and her lips tight. She searched his eyes for another moment before looking away, retreating from his gaze. "Oh," she said lamely, making Nick's own brow come together. "Right..." The way she said it had an air of finality that he did not feel comfortable going against. He had the sense that she probably didn't want to explain what she meant by that, so reluctantly, he let it go.

As Nick found himself lounging back into the brick wall behind him, there were many thoughts running through his mind. Something about her concern with her species did not sit well with him; it struck him as incredibly odd. He had to wonder what was going on in her head, as he did not like it when he couldn't get a read on her. More times than not it was because she was stewing in something that she felt like she had to deal with alone. Whatever it was, he knew probing about it was just going to make the situation worse, so he just kept his big mouth shut.

Resolving to allow their comfortable silence to return, Nick settled in and let his attention slip back onto the movie. Their conversation had drown out the plot of the movie so much that he had completely missed the climax. The tyrannosaurus rex had already made his final appearance and saved the mammals from the raptors, and was roaring in his victory. As the survivors piled onto the InGen helicopter, Nick couldn't help but think about the gondola ride all those months ago, where they had just escaped a surprisingly similar situation. It hadn't even been a year since then, and look at him now.

Something in the back of his brain had him subconsciously tightening his hold around the rabbit as he looked out into the relentless flurry. Maybe it wasn't right to think she had saved his life then, as it was technically her fault that he was in that situation to begin with, but he felt that he was not wrong in thinking that she _had_ saved his life. Maybe not in the most literal sense, but there was no doubt that where he was right now was something that he couldn't take for granted. Having lunch in the months to come, becoming her partner, being her friend, and even going with her back to her burrow next Christmas, he couldn't wait. Nick's mind was made up long before that moment, but the words made it real. He wanted _this_ , for the rest of his life.

Nick did not even want to think about what it was like before, which he guessed made it a lot easier for him to just accept their closeness as the new normal. Anything – even just beating his head against some brain-numbing nine to five – would have been easy to accept as the new normal, he supposed. He almost couldn't put into words how thankful he was feeling right that moment. Every hitch and bump that accompanied his developing life with Judy by his side was completely negligible when he was in moments like the one he was in now. It was like he was invincible, and his species, past, and even his tumultuous future didn't bother him the slightest bit.

Lost in his thoughts, Nick brought the last of his coffee up to his lips and took another small sip. When the liquid touched his tongue, it was only lukewarm, which peaked Nick's attention. Their conversation gave the frigid air of the apartment enough time to suck the warmth out of the coffee a lot faster than he had anticipated, and he decided to slam the rest before it had a chance to freeze on him. The last thing he wanted at that moment was cold joe. As he was discarding the mug off to join Judy's he felt her stir on his lap, and her mouth opened wide in a soundless yawn to display her two enormous buck teeth.

Nick was captured by how wide her mouth opened up, an amused smile spreading up his long muzzle as she finally reached the precipice of the yawn, huffing in a soft voice. "That was a big yawn," he murmured, watching one of her paws rise up from the tangle of blankets to rub her eye. Looking up, the fox saw that the movie was well and truly over, credits playing over the screen as the helicopter flew out into the sunset. Blinking, his eyes drifted over to the glowing green numbers sat comfortably on the windowsill. The square, orange clock displayed a time of 11:41 at night, which was honestly a surprise for the fox. "Maybe we should hit it."

Judy's head snapped up. "No, I'm fine," she said quickly, trying to sound convincing even though she was still halfway through another, smaller yawn. "I'm not even tired."

Cocking his brow, Nick tilted his head to the side to study the rabbit in his lap. She was attempting to look like she meant it, that was for sure, but the way her eyelids sagged slightly over her lavender orbs and the developing dark circles under them told a different story. "You got up at five-thirty today like you always do, didn't you?" he asked. Judy opened her mouth to say something, but the words didn't come out, and she snapped her mouth shut in a tight line. Nick chuckled softly. "You see, it's been a very long day, and it's about time that we face the facts. We're just not as young as we used to be."

"Look who's talking," Judy retorted, narrowing her vision at the fox as he straightened out. She looked like she wanted to say something more, but she cut herself off when Nick's large paws circled around her waist over the blankets. With a surprised expression, she offered little resistance as Nick listed her off his lap and put her down as far away as their joined sweater would allow. "You don't have to leave," she said, turning her head to look at him as he grabbed at the back of the sweater. "We can stay up a little bit longer."

Nick just smiled at her hopeful expression before pulling the sweater over his head and onto his arms. His fur had been significantly ruffed up when his head popped out from the hem, sticking up at odd ends. "Keep the sweater," he said smoothly, studying the growing amount of disappointment in her eyes. The fox pulled one arm and then the other out of the red fabric, taking care to smooth the sweater down the length of her back and tossing his sleeves over her shoulders. "It's your present after all."

Now that they were no longer joined, the creeping sensation of cold sunk down into his fur, as well as another, more ethereal feeling. The divide sent a pang of loss through his body, but he took care to not let the slightest hint enter his features. Instead, he just smiled wider at the rabbit pouting at him and adjusted her beanie more comfortably on her head. This caused a slight widening in the rabbit's eyes for a moment, before she tried to mask it with incredulity, huffing and sticking her nose up into the air away from him. Nick just chuckled again, tying his sleeves together in a loose knot around her shoulders.

Nick hesitated for a brief second before resigning himself to his own declaration, scrambling out to the side to get out from behind Judy and onto the rest of the bed. On his way, he collected to two mugs discarded off to the side and dropped down onto the chilling floor almost immediately regretting his decision. Still, he knew if they didn't make the effort now, they could end up watching movies until the sun came up, and he had every intention of spending as much time with her as possible until he had to go back. Sleeping Christmas day away probably wasn't going to do much for that resolution.

"Plus," he called back on his was to their kitchen shelf, "didn't you want to do something tomorrow?" The only light in the whole apartment came from the small sparkling Christmas tree on the desk and the projector, and with the mostly black credit scene, it was pretty dark. Even through the veil of darkness, though, Nick could still clearly see the absolute mess that was their kitchen. He shook his head lightly as he reached up to deposit both of their mugs into the cluttered, grey tub full of other dirty dishes. While he was reaching up, he turned his head back to look at the bunny. "That's gonna be pretty hard if we end up binging on movies all night."

Judy blinked. "You really mean it?" she asked, a toothy smile spreading up her features. She was still sitting in the middle of the bed, blankets wrapped around her chest, and in her excitement, she pulled the tangle of fabric tighter up to her neck. "You'll do something with me tomorrow?"

"Within reason, rabbit," Nick replied in a droning voice, strolling back over to the bed. In a flash of movement, Judy threw the blankets off her front and struggled to get up. The fox watched with amusement as he loosened his tie, seeing her wobbling unsteadily when she finally got to her hind paws, arms spread out in both directions to keep herself from toppling over. She looked incredibly comical with the oversized sweater hanging off her back and shoulders, as even her sleeves were fairly baggy for her slender arms. Despite that, the back of the sweater had ridded up to hang off her tail, and Nick found himself fighting the urge to ogle it.

Nick discovered that she may have drank more than he had expected as she clumsily waddled over to head of the bed. But he found himself much more interested in what she was doing. Judy reached out and plucked the clock from the windowsill, bracing herself on the wall with one paw. When she rose back up, Nick could see her punching a few buttons on the top of the small electronic. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm turning off the alarm," she replied.

Both of Nick's eyebrows shot up to full attention, his jaw moving up and down without any words. Dumbstruck, he watched as the rabbit replaced the alarmclock, the very same one he had never known to _not_ go off in the morning, off day or not. "Get out of town," he finally exclaimed, capturing the bunny's attention as she turned. "Who are you and what did you do with the relentless torturer that lives here?"

Judy's expression dropped to amusement in spite of herself, and she scoffed loudly at the accusation, sticking her paws on her hips and leaning forward. "Very funny, Slick," she mocked, provoking an entertained huff of air out of the fox. Her attempt at exasperation was short lived, though, as they both shared a small giggle. Carefully, she turned and slowly made her way back down the bed, kneeling down to unplug and fiddle with the sleeping laptop. "If you're agreeing to something I want to do, I might as well meet you halfway."

When the light of the laptop's screen flashed back on, Judy's face was completely illuminated in the darkness, capturing Nick's attention completely. For a moment he was lost for words as he watched the reflection of the screen sparkle in her amethyst eyes, and in the light he could see an enormous blush running deep through her fur, matching his crimson beanie sitting comfortably on her head. She clicked a few keys and the computer bleeped out, going completely grey as it shut down. Nick was just able to regain his composure when she shut the lid and began struggling back onto her hind paws.

"How very kind," he admitted, accepting the computer when she offered it out for him to take. Without turning around, he sat it down onto desk, watching as she stepped up to the edge of the bed right in front of him. They were very close now, Judy just inches away from him. She shyly chewed on her bottom lip with her large buck teeth, one of her paws coming up to adjust the side of his beanie. Her paws were almost completely swallowed by the sleeves, and with all of the clothes on her, she looked very warm to the fox standing in the cold. His brow rose slowly the longer they looked into each other's eyes, but finally Judy reached out and grabbed his shoulders.

Nick didn't react, only continuing to look into her eyes. He could feel her pull him close towards her, and he offered no resistence in her direction. Finally, he was close enough for her to wrap her arms around him and pull him into a tight hug, digging her face into the fur of his neck. She clung to his nape and pulled him in even tighter when she felt his paws slowly come up to circle her waist. "Goodnight, Nick," she mumbled, her hot breath sending a shiver down the fox's spine. "Thanks for everything."

Returning the hug silently, Nick let the lids of his eyes drift shut, completely enveloping himself in the feeling. She was soft against his fur, nestled perfectly in his neck, and he could feel every breath she took. It was all he could do not to sigh contentedly. Unfortunately, all good things came to an end, and Judy started pulling away. Nick followed her for a moment, leaning forward until he had practically pursued the hug all the way over the bed. He had only lost his grip when Judy snorted into his neck, waking him up from his stupor. Awkwardly, he pulled back to a rigid posture, keeping his paws on her hips.

The teasing smile on her face made the fox rip his paws off her and stiffly scratch the back of his neck, where she had held onto him. Nick coughed. "Sweet dreams, Carrots," he managed, waving his other paw through the air dismissively. "It was all I could do."

Judy's teasing smile remained, and she tilted her chin up to look at him with lidded eyes. "Well, it was more than enough," she replied.

Before he could respond, she turned on her heals and began pulling apart the tangle of blankets. Nick blinked for a moment, staring at the rabbit as she took pawfulls of material only to worsen the knot. It felt like several seconds before his thoughts returned to him in any meaningful way, and chief among them was a certain level of embarrassment for being so readable in not wanting the hug to end. He was chewing on the inside of his cheek in irritation with himself when he glanced over to the clock, which displayed a time only a couple minutes later. Nick was beginning to think he should have just kept his big mouth shut.

Nick offered one more glance towards the rabbit busying herself with fixing her blankets before turning to the cluttered desk. After the computer had been turned off, the projector reverted back to the vibrant blue that bathed the apartment in a washed-out color. Standing out from overlapping, dark lines of the solid blue casting shadows on the jigsaw of backwards posters, the small Christmas tree sparkled in vibrant shades of pink, yellow, green, and more, reflecting off the many ornaments that hung off its fake limbs. Nick to a step forward and reached over the clutter of papers, torn wrapping paper, and miscellaneous items to yank the the power cord from its extension, condemning the tree to darkness.

The fox haphazardly let the cord fall back behind the desk and went to work rummaging around the chaotic workspace for the forgotten remote control. Sometime during the night, Judy had gotten it in her mind that it would be fun to constantly mess with the projector's setting during the movie, and Nick had become so fed-up with it that he had thrown the remote across the room, a fact that he was currently regretting. Finally, he found it sat underneath a clump of torn paper, and dexterously flip to around in his paw and pointed it over his head, pushing the button and casting the entire apartment into darkness.

Nick casually tossed the remote back onto the pile, resolving to hang it back up tomorrow. For a moment, he just stood there, taking in the atmosphere. It was still cold, but now that there was no light, it almost felt colder. Even with his sensitive eyes his surrounding were hard to make out, the only relatively bright thing now being the whirlwind of snow fluttering outside the window. From where Nick was standing it looked picturesque, with a rich blackness framing a window out into a blizzard. As if to prove his point, a gale howled through the street, whipping across the face of their apartment building hauntingly, making the old wood creak around them.

He remained there for another moment, staring out into the storm and thinking about the many thoughts that clouded his mind. He could still feel the buzz of the alcohol even after the coffee had run through his body, but the caffeine did not stop his wanting for rest. Even now he could feel his eyelids threaten to close themselves. With a drawn out exhale, Nick glanced again to the cluttered desk, where his eyes fell onto his new phone, sitting idly on the edge. He picked it up slowly, turning it around in his paw before pressing the power button. The screen lit up and stung his eyes for a moment, making him squint at the bright light.

The time hadn't changed much again, but that wasn't why he was now typing away at the screen. Even if they were going to do something later in the day, they would have to rely on their natural clocks to wake them up without an alarm. From past experience in them both having to deal with very long days, it was possible that it would be almost noon before they got a clue, and maybe even later for him. Coupling that with his ideal in spending more time with her in the short time he had, he set his own alarm. When he was done he took one more glance at Judy, seeing that she was finally settling into bed. He flashed her a warm smile before heading for his own sleeping spot.

When Nick had moved in all those months ago, they had initially set up a pallet for him to sleep on just next to the bed, in the small amount of floor space available. What had been proven several times over the days after that was that there was a tendency for the bunny to trip over him of accidently step on his tail either when she got up to go to the bathroom, or was trying to get ready for work in the morning. It became clear pretty quickly that his pallet wasn't going to work. So, Nick had come up with an idea that had Judy firmly disagree, as she had believed it wasn't fair.

Nick had come up with the idea to sleep under the bed. Specifically, he had thought it would be a good idea to pull the two drawers out of the solid base and crawl into the inner compartment. Judy hadn't liked the idea, but he was able to convince her that he was fine with it after awhile. It wasn't like he wasn't used to similarly cramped nests, and when Judy's mother had sent her almost a dozen blankets to keep her warm in her first winter away from the burrow, they had used them to create a nest comprised of old, flower themed mink blankets and thick quilts made by Judy's family.

What he had made was unorthodox to say the least, but it was actually incredibly comfortable. It almost felt like he was sleeping in a cave of silk sometimes, happily balled up into himself for warmth. It was far and beyond the lumpy cot that he had to sleep on in the academy, at least. Nick got down onto his knees and fiddled with the lip of blankets hanging out of one of the drawerless openings. Once he had found the layer that would lead him into the nest, he reached in with both his arms, diving for the soft refuge. It took some struggling and kicking before he slid down into the blanket grotto.

Nick rolled on his back and dug his shoulder blades into the material to get comfortable, tossing his phone off to the side now that he was sheltered on all sides from the outside. It wasn't even bone-chillingly cold inside, either, as it seems a small amount of the warmth they had generated together had reached down into his nest. When he was settled, Nick happily took a deep breath of air, savoring the scent of his fox burrow, the antiquated smells of the quilts, and… Judy.

The fox froze, a second later his eyes snapping open. Nick's thoughts were a mishmash of rationalizations and confusion, but the more he started sniffing around, the more clear it was becoming. It would seem in his absence, his nest had not been unoccupied. Nick turned over and stuck his snout into the bed of blankets, dragging a long breath through the material to capture everything. The fox was not even able to finish the breath before he pulled his nose away, feeling rather light-headed. There was no denying it. Judy had been here, sleeping right where he was now.

Slowly, Nick flopped back down onto his back, staring up at the dark roof of pinned and cramped blankets to the bottom of the bed frame. He wondered why she would sleep in such a place when she had the whole of the bed to her disposal. Maybe he was just overreacting, and she had only ventured in his space in a search for dirty clothes or something. Still, he could smell her pretty clearly, and doubted very much that just a couple quick ventures could saturate the space as much as it was. It didn't make any sense to him, as he distinctly remembered her admitting that rabbits have a hard time sleeping somewhere that didn't smell like home. He got the impression that a fox burrow was about as far away as you could get.

Even if he closed his eyes and concentrated, he could not ignore the prevalence. Which, in some parts of his mind, wasn't all that much of a bad thing. Still, he felt like he had just been jostled awake, and now was having a hard time finding a comfortable spot, which wasn't being helped by the caffein. With a dramatic exhale, Nick decided to just force himself to be still, and turned over in his spot away from the opening. As he lay there, he felt Judy toss around on the bed above as he undid the last of his tie's knot with one paw. In a quick motion, he pulled the black, carrot-spotted accessory from his neck and tossed it off to some far corner of his grotto.

The moments dragged on after that. It took some time for his body heat to warm his nest up into something even mildly warm, and even then it wasn't anything compared to the warmth he had felt next to Judy. His ears twitched at that, and he tried again to push those thoughts from his mind. It seemed like a long time of jumbled thoughts and anxious changes in how his head was resting, and it still felt he was no closer to sleep. His mind was far too active for allow him an easy transition.

Above him, it felt like Judy was having a similarly rough time finding purchase in the pursuit of sleep, tossing and turning every couple minutes. Finally she let out a frustrated groan and sat up. "Oh my goodness," she said, her voice muffled by the walls of his grotto. "It's freezing up here!"

Nick's ears perked to her voice, and his eyes peeked open to the dark interior of his nest. He turned his head to the side to look up at the ceiling. "There's some thicker blankets still on the top shelf," he replied, uncoiling slightly and keeping his attention on the bunny.

Several moments went by of silence, and Nick just listened for any kind of reply. She remained quiet for some time, but finally she huffed out an annoyed breath, and he could feel her moving on the bed again. "Those won't work," she grumbled. The fox could feel her shift over to the edge of the bed before hopping down onto the wood floor. "It's way too cold and I can't sleep in all of these layers."

Nick rolled his eyes and sighed, letting his head thump back down onto the bed of blankets. He let out a yawn before nuzzling the fabric lightly. "I don't know what to tell you, Fl–" Nick's voice died in his throat when he felt his blanket being tugged on, and he was once again fully awake. His head snapped up and peered through the darkness behind him, where the entrance of his grotto was. Sure enough, he could see two rabbit-sized paws push their way into his space. Nick blinked, completely dumbstruck. "What are you doing?"

"Move over," Judy called out, a moment later her head sliding into his nest after her paws as she crawled in. "I'm coming in." Nick just watched in abject astoundment as she squirmed her way further into his den.

When Nick finally found his voice, he was too late. "Wai–" he said, cutting himself off as she rolled the rest of the way into his space. She landed lazily beside him, bumping into him as she fell into place on her back. Judy twisted from side to side, burying herself into the blankets with a contented sigh. Nick, on the other hand, was having a harder time. His head fell back into place, facing away from the bunny now intruding on his den, and he attempted not to notice how she was bumping into him every time she moved. Trying to give her more room, he scooted over to the edge as much as possible.

Finally, she settled down and let out another sigh. "Oh, it's like a furnace in here," she commented, pulling out to her full length and bowing her body in a massive stretch. When she was done, the rabbit when limp beside him. "That's _really_ nice. Thank you."

"Uh…" Nick replied weakly, trying to ignore the anxious feeling building up in his muscles. They had certainly been very close on more than one occasion, but they hadn't actually slept together since that night in the barn months ago. For whatever reason, he was feeling a lot more nervous about it now than back then. "No problem?"

Judy just hummed in appreciation, but besides that she didn't respond. Nick took this as his que to try to fall asleep again, so he closed his eyes and attempted to calm his scattered thoughts. However, his concentration was broken when he felt her tug on the back of his shirt. "It's kinda cramped in here," she said softly. Nick's eyes snapped open once again, and he remained deathly still in anticipation for her to continue. "Turn over."

It was almost like those two words had turned the once bustling plaza of his mind, filled to the brim with criers and frantic onlookers, into a barren desert. Hesitantly, he rolled on his shoulder just enough to peer back at the rabbit with an unreadable expression. She was staring in his direction, but from the way her eyes were focused on anything in particular, he could tell that she couldn't see anything. Nick could also see the timid feelings written out over her features. "Turn…?" he asked, his voice trailing off as if he had not caught the last part of her request.

Carefully, she reached out again and placed a paw on his shoulder. "Over," she finished, guiding him around with her paw. Nick hesitated again for a moment, but ultimately relented to the bunny's wishes, swifting around and rolling on his back until he was facing Judy. "That's right," she coaxed, letting him settle into place. When she was sure he had stopped moving, she reached out again and placed her paw on his chest. Nick watched, hypnotized as Judy inched her way closer to him, keeping her paw on his chest. Her brow knit in uncertainty the closer she got, but he did not stop her, even when her nose was an inch away from his chest.

She was so close now that she had to slide her paw over his chest and around his side to get closer. "Yeah…" she squeaked, pulling herself flush with him. "Just like that." And suddenly, Nick found himself legitimately cuddling with her. There was no other words to describe what was going on, and even if there were, he had no way of trying to think about what they were at the moment. Her one paw was placed right at the bottom of his right shoulder blade, and the other was flat against his chest, pressed up between them. Judy rolled her face into him, getting the bridge of her short snout even with his chest.

It was in that moment that Nick realized that he had no idea what to do with his paws. They were both outstretched past the bunny nestled into his chest, awkwardly laying limp with nothing to do. Was he supposed to hug her back? He didn't know. In fact, he didn't know what to do at all in this situation. As far as he was concerned it was uncharted territory, and the way her breath was rhythmically rustling his fur was robbing him of coherent thought. After a few seconds of deliberation, he resigned himself to the risk. Nick pulled his arms around the bunny, pulling her even closer to him and eliciting an peaceful hum.

Nick waited for a moment before letting his head rest back onto the bed, settling himself into the act. Whether it was the booze in her system or something else, or something else he didn't know. What he did know what the way she pushed her face into him flared up that feeling from within the pits of his stomach with a vengeance. Even the way her hind paws bumped up against his knees were setting it off now. The worst was when she rolled her face around and sighed, a gentle vibration in her throat sending shivers down the fox so powerful that his tail twitched uncontrollably.

"You know," she said, rousing the fox out of the daze he had been under. He blinked for a few seconds, collecting what was left of his shattered composure and grappled with his thoughts to at least regain _some_ of his unflinching attitude. "I've spent a couple nights in here while you were away."

"I know," Nick admitted, causing the bunny to pull back and glance up at the source of his voice. He was making every attempt to sound normal, but it was still coming out stiff. Looking down to meet her unseeing gaze, he saw that her nose twitched ever so slightly. "I have a pretty good sense of smell, remember?"

Judy's face scrunched up in embarrassment. "Oh," she replied meekly, looking away before sticking her nose back into his chest. "That's embarrassing." The fox almost gulped, but managed to keep himself in check. They stayed like that for a moment, both wrapped up in their own tumultuous thoughts. It was Judy that broke the silence. "I know it's like… _Your_ den, so I don't know if I'm not allowed in here or whatever–"

"No, you're fine," Nick said, cutting her off. His neck straightened back out so he could lay his head back down. "You can… It's your apartment, so…"

"Right," Judy replied, having no qualm with letting that conversation end.

It was like that for another few minutes. They had mutually accepted the embrace that they now found themselves in, and while it was stiff on both sides, it was nice. For starters, Nick noticed immediately the almost burning warmth that it created, which was Judy's whole reason in coming down here, or so he told himself. Knowing that, his tail came over almost on its own, laying softly across Judy's hind paws. He could feel her eyelids part faintly on his chest, and a small smile spread over her features, which was more than enough motivation to adjust it to better cover her exposed legs.

The feeling had crawled its way up to his throat by now, almost making it itch with a bizarre sensation. Something was different about it this time, though. It felt like it was constricting his throat, choking him, but his mind could not focus on it. Every minute corner of his brain pulsed its attention towards the rabbit pressed up against him every time she exhaled her hot breath into his fur. He looked around his grotto for something to distract him, but saw nothing but his phone. When his eyes fell onto the device, though, he remembered that it was set to go off, so he swiped it up to lower the volume for her sensitive ears.

The screen blinded him when it came on, and becoming accumulated to the screen did not seem like a possibility. Instead, he braved through the menus with painfully squinted eyes, tapping away with his thumb as quickly as he could. Before he shut it off, his eyes fell onto the time, 11:57pm, less than one hundred and eighty seconds away from Christmas Eve's end. Nick clicked the power button and tossed the device off to the side somewhere, lost in thought. Slowly, his paw came back to rest on the small of her back. "Is there anything else I can give you?" he finally asked, his voice in a low hum.

"What do you mean?" she mumbled back, obviously losing herself to sleep with every moment. Still, she managed to pivot her head up his chest to look up with one, drowsy eye.

Nick slid his own head down to look at her, but wound up only getting his snout to rest just above her crown of her head. "It's probably only Christmas Eve for a few more minutes," he replied gently. "Is there anything else I can do to make it memorable?"

Judy moaned and buried her face back into his chest. "No," she said, using her hind paws to push herself deeper into his chest and tightening the hug. "You got me everything I wanted."

Nick cocked a brow, tilting his head slightly to the sid to glance at what bits of her face weren't buried in his shirt. "Oh, yeah?" he asked, curiosity coming through his voice. She had assured him that he got things that she liked, but he did not take that to mean that those were what she had actually wanted. Nick pulled away slightly to look properly down at the rabbit against his chest. "What _did_ you want?"

"You," she replied softly, stalling Nick's mind completely. Slowly, Judy's nose slid up his shirt until a single eye was exposed to him. It took her a few more seconds to pull away enough to look up at the bewildered fox, even though she could not see him. "I loved _all_ of your presents, Nick, but I really don't want to ever hear you say they weren't heartfelt enough. They're all beautiful and thoughtful and kind, but it's because _you_ got them that I won't ever let them go. They're the best gifts I've ever gotten, but the greatest gift…" Her voice trailed off before she started chewing on her bottom lip. Suddenly, she stuck her face back into his chest, hiding her expression. "The greatest gift I got this year was _you_ ," she said, her voice muffled by his fur.

Nick just blinked, absorbing what she had said. It almost didn't register with him what they meant, that's how foreign they were for him. He never expected anyone to ever say something like that, and the way it just completely stunned him was proof enough of that. Something else, though, crept up past that choking feeling and spread around the base of his ears, making him feel light-headed. He had to chuckle at it all. "How sickeningly sentimental," he admitted, coaxing a breathy giggle out of the bunny. His expression softened as he looked down at the top of her head, naked affection written across his features. "Likewise, Carrots."

Judy didn't respond right away as she chewed on her lip with a smile so large Nick could feel it through his shirt. After a good moment, she giggled again, sending joyous breaths into his fur shook her head. The rabbit tightened her grip on him, trying to pull him closer even though she couldn't. "Goodnight, Nick," she whispered.

"Yeah…" Nick replied, his voice husky and far away, hovering just loud enough for her to hear him. "You too."

There were many thoughts running through the fox's head at that moment, but none of them were loud enough to distract him away from the feeling of her pressed up against his chest. Every rational and quite a few irrational pieces of his mind warned against whatever he thought he was doing, but he ignored all of them. Instead, he just wrapped himself around the bunny, protecting her from the cold and himself from her absence. That same feeling ran throughout his body, but it all fused together into the same dull, enveloping warmth that he felt at that moment.

His eyes were open just long enough to see his phone light up from across the grotto, displaying a time of exactly midnight and a message from Judy, likely programmed before she had even given it to him. It was a collection of six strung together emojis, a fox and a rabbit between two wreaths and two Christmas trees with the caption 'the first of many. Merry Christmas, Nick!' That dull warmth buzzed inside his head as a dorky smile spread up his long muzzle. "Merry Christmas, Ca–" he began to say, but cut himself off. When he started again, his words sounded nothing like the fox he used to be. "Merry Christmas, _Judy_."

"Merry Christmas," she mumbled back.

Silence enveloped the odd pair once again, but this time he could feel that it would be the last time for tonight. The seconds dragged onto minutes, and he remained peacefully still, listening to how her breath grew more and more even as time went on. Soon, the furrows that she made in his shirt from her tight grip loosened, and she went limp in his arms. Judy was leaning into him still, her breaths going in and out of his fur. Once she was still, her mouth parted slightly, and he could feel the steady rhythm of slumber against his chest. In that moment, that feeling from the pit of his stomach was prevalent that it was impossible for him to ignore.

It had been clawing at him the entire night, every moment that he had been… feeling close to Judy. There was a click somewhere within the confines of his skull, and like the drop of a needle in a still room, the reverberations sunk deep and wide. It was like a cascading epiphany, hitting one memory at a time with recognition of what was going on. Every time he had been close to her, physically or not, it was there. Every time that she reached out to him or he reached out to her and she accepted, it was there. Every time he felt, for the first time in his life, that he wanted something so desperately without even knowing what it was, it was there.

Nick's expression went slack and his eyes parted open, his mind working overtime as it put the pieces of the puzzle together. It was staring him right in the face, for how long, he didn't know. Every moment his brain stalled or snapped at her slightest gesture of kindness, or how he just couldn't stop himself from desiring her closeness, he was blind. It was in that moment, with her sleeping blissfully, pressed right up to his heart, that he found _the_ word. That one little word that had destroyed entire civilizations, or compelled mammals to travel to the ends of the earth. He knew what the feeling was now, and now that it was there, it wasn't going away.

 _Uh oh_ , Nick thought lamely. _I'm in love with a rabbit_.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

 **Well… Okay. This chapter took the same amount of time as writing the** _ **entirety**_ **of Quid Pro Quo, if you can believe that. What was I doing, you ask? Very important stuff, believe me. I wouldn't lie to you.**

 **Anyway, that's another story done. Getting it done by Christmas didn't seem to work out, and I'm pretty sure this ending is going to come to a surprise to many. I never intended it to go past midnight Christmas day, so there it is. Then again, I also didn't intend to be writing it past midnight of christmas day, so there** _ **that**_ **is. Regardless, this has always been a continuation rather than a full-fledged sequel. I had always envisioned the sequel to be properly tagged 'romance', but I couldn't do that without telling the story of how he fell in love, now could I? This universe isn't done, but I am in no hurry to draft any ideas. I want whatever comes next to be the best that it can be, so I don't want to rush things.**

 **In the meantime, I still want to write, and while it may be some time before I come back to mainline Nick and Judy, I've got other ideas that I'd like to explore. I'm still very new to writing in general, so I want all the practice I can get, and with this next project I've got in the works, I will be getting plenty of practice.**

 **I'm not dead, and I do not plan on dying anytime soon. I'll see you in the next story.**

 **(edit): Oh, and I almost forgot. I've gotten some fanart by a couple people out there. Their names are Red Velvet Panda and Aronaut on tumblr. Check 'em out.**


End file.
